January 12, 2015. It is not very hot in the courtyard of the castle, but the Brothers Gregory are happy. For a few minutes, these are the new owners of Ripeau.
Ripeau. A rough name like the work of the vine. A mysterious name too, like wine.
The property extends in one piece over 16 ha. All around and as far as the eye can see, the vineyards of Saint-Emilion are spread out.
Finally…
It’s winter, the branches are bare under the cold winter sun. But in their woods, in their sap, lies a tremendous promise. Because this terroir is beautiful. Very precise analyzes have verified it: everything is there, in power, to make a very great wine.
Cyrille and Nicolas Grégoire know it. For more than 20 years they have been growing grapes, they know they have reached a high point. There have been several castles before, but Ripeau will be the castle heart, the one that will always be there in the old days, the one that the children will take again …
Give honour where honour is due. This landlord who seems asleep under the winter sun, it is advisable to adorn him with a garment to his height.
Architectural plans are moving quickly, but it will still take many nights of insomnia and work tirelessly to find the perfect harmony: the architectural setting cut for Ripeau. In its flanks, the wine will be raised in a millimetric way.
The Grégoire brothers have a passion for wine. Cyrille will live in Ripeau with his family. As before. The vine has become their way of life, intimately embracing their family life. The story Gregory began in a forge, but it is in the vineyard that it continues now.
In 2019, after 3 years of a meticulously orchestrated mutation, Lord Ripeau will have a brand new coat.