Château Tronquoy: Pierre Célérier
The property was also highly ranked in the 1850 Cocks et Féret, listed sixth in the commune, directly behind the five properties subsequently anointed as classed growths just a few years later. The Tronquoy family held on to the property for a few more years, up until 1859, when they sold it to Pierre Célérier. He was listed as proprietor in the 1868 and 1874 editions of Cocks et Féret. With time responsibility for running the property passed to the next generation, Sidney Célérier, notes to be proprietor in the 1883 and 1886 editions. Féret, writing in Les Vins de Médoc (Édouard Féret, 1897), provides more detail on the property at the end of the 19th century, by which time it had been passed to the next generation, Fernand and Raoul Célérier. I have concluded that these were the brothers Fernand Célérier (born c.1845) and Jean Raoul Célérier (born 1857) who worked in the region as négociants, although I have note been able to conclusively connect them to Pierre or Sidney, as their father was Jean-Baptiste Célérier (1801 – 1860). Perhaps they were nephews, or cousins.
Édouard Féret described a handsome property during the tenure of the Célérier brothers, with 35 hectares of vines, almost exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30 hectares of grassland and gardens. The terroir was noted to be rich in gravel, and the wines marked by good body and finesse, which perhaps accounted for the reputed popularity in England and Germany at this time. Under the direction of the Célérier family the estate continued to grow, and by 1922 the annual production had increased to 150 tonneaux per annum. By this time, Fernand Célérier was managing the property alone, and I suspect Jean Raoul had died.
