Clos Cristal: The Hospices
Antoine Cristal had been fifty years old when he left the world of textiles behind in favour of the vine, and he was seventy years of age before he enjoyed the international commercial success described above. But Antoine came from good stock it seems, as he survived well past his 90th birthday. Nevertheless, by this age he was clearly struggling to maintain his expansive vineyard, which was beginning to look rather overgrown. Unmarried, and without an heir, in 1928 he decided to donate his vineyard to the Hospices de Saumur as it was known at the time. It was not unknown for vineyards to be donated or bequeathed to the hospices here just as they were in Beaune, and Clos Cristal is not the only plot of vines to have been donated in this fashion.
Antoine Cristal (his likeness pictured) died three years later, in 1931, still resident in Château de Parnay. His vineyards have remained in the possession of the Centre Hospitalier de Saumur – which evolved from the Hospices de Saumur – ever since. The label still displayed the rather more traditional-sounding Hospices de Saumur though, and under the direction of the hospices the vineyard once again received the attention it deserved. With the support of the local mayor, the vineyard was completely replanted, and its management was then turned over to local vignerons who worked the land on behalf of the hospital. The wines were not of particular renown, and while some bottles were sold at the hospital, it was also given to the patients to drink. This remained true up until the end of the 20th century.
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