Château La Commanderie
The history of Château La Commanderie, in Pomerol, stretches back many centuries, although it is a story rather short on detail. The name La Commanderie is a clue though, as the cellars occupy the site of an ancient commanderie, manned by the Knights of the Hospital of Saint Jean of Jerusalem. From as early as the 12th century the Knights Hospitallers as they are known were here, tending to the needs of pilgrims who were making their way towards Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.
While its origin therefore seems rather obvious, detail on who inhabited this corner of the modern-day Pomerol appellation through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and into the modern era is sparse. The Knights Hospitallers maintained some presence in France up to the point of the Revolution, but at this time the Order was abolished, and in 1792 all their assets and properties were seized. In the post-Revolutionary period Napoleon even took the fight against the Hospitallers overseas, capturing their stronghold in Malta in 1798, during his expedition to Egypt.
While it seems likely that the Knights Hospitallers were resident here for much of this time, it seems inevitable that the property was confiscated during the late-18th century (if not before). But there seems to be no information on who acquired it, and it only surfaces in local wine literature a hundred years later.
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