Château Gloria: Henri Martin
It was just a few years after Alfred had thrown in the serviette that Henri Martin made his first foray into viticulture. Up until this moment Henri had made a living as a tonnelier as his father had done, but in 1939 he purchased a small vineyard located next to the family residence in the lieu-dit of Gloria. This was a parcel of modest size, planted to 6,000 vines; in terms of size, it was probably between 60 ares (or 0.6 hectares), assuming the vines were planted per square metre, or if the planting density was lower it could have been as much as 1 hectare. Either way, a small beginning. But it was still a beginning.
While this purchase would later be seen as the genesis of Château Gloria, it was 1942 before things really got going. At this time Jean-Charles Cazes (1877 – 1972) of Château Lynch-Bages, who acted as a financier as well as winemaker, alerted Henri Martin to the opportunity to purchase 6 hectares of vines in St Julien, often said to be from Château Beychevelle (although there is little evidence to support this, and writers who state this as the origin of the vines may be conflating it with a later deal). This was obviously a rather more significant investment than the little garden-sized vineyard he had acquired in 1939 and so before signing on the dotted line Henri decided to seek counsel from his father Alfred.
Once again, Bernard Ginestet opens a door onto life chez Martin:
“Alfred was busy playing cards with his friends in a secret retreat which he had set up above the old cask factory. The manager of Ducru-Beaucaillou, the last boatman from Beychevelle, and a visitor from Pagnol were present. Just as Martin was at a critical stage in the game, his son appeared at the top of the ladder to discuss the proposal. His father told him to clear out and the son sheepishly returned to see the financier.”
Henri seems to have left with his tail between his legs, nevertheless he had decided to go through with the deal, and so he added another 6 hectares to his domaine.
