The history of Domaine du Cinquau begins in the year of grace 1617.
In Béarn, the Cinquau estate was already on one of the Pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela (The Arlès way). Remained in the family since 1617, we already produced Jurançon. The property of Artiguelouve which became the fifth farm of Betouzet’s family (hence the name of Cinquau – cinq/five) was covered with vineyards and forests as today. Only lived on the spot the vine growers. The owners of the place lived in the Château d’Andrein, near Sauveterre de Béarn and came to Artiguelouve to hunt and bring back the wine.
In the year of grace 1620, Louis XIII had knighted one of the members of this family for services rendered to his father Henry IV. In the autumn, a big party organized for this occasion, for the season of the hunt, reunites his friend Count de Treville, captain of the Musketeers of the King and the young people of the region of which Athos, Porthos and Aramis who met on this occasion. D’Artagnan was planning his trip to Paris and was unaware of the adventures that awaited him four years later.
It was a little later that one of the family’s juniors built the prime of the main house and moved there. Generations succeeded one another until the revolution; the house is transmitted from father to son. Last of the Bétouzet, without descendants, bequeathed the property to his sister and for three generations, the transmission will be by women.
The history of the Domaine du Cinquau continues in the middle of the 19th century,
Antoine Peyre, one of the successive sons-in-law, will have a special role for the region and for the area which, in the meantime, has continued to produce Jurançon. Son of vine growers in the Limoux region, he transformed the farm by extending and modernizing it to make it the beginning of what it is today.
Polytechnicien, an engineer officer, he participated in the construction of Fort Portalet in the Aspe valley and the barracks of the Place de Verdun in Pau. Became sub-prefect of Oloron, he is active to improve the road between Lacommande and Artiguelouve.
Officer, he is garrisoned at the Château de Pau then owned by the army, before Louis Philippe decides to make a museum in memory of his ancestor Henri IV, which allows his son Roger to be born in the castle and to receive there his gifts of historian. Roger, brilliant associate, professes in Toulouse and writes a lot. His son, Henri, very literary, publishes novels and poems.
Wars, phylloxera, lack of investment lead to the decline of the estate at the same time as a general disaffection in our country for sweet wines. The last barrel of this period is shipped in 1932 to a pub in Pau.
Isabelle, the only daughter of Henri, married Jean Saubot, an architect who made a brilliant career in Paris with many buildings including the Tokyo Quay Museum and the Montparnasse Tower.
It’s in 1984 …
Isabelle asks one of her children, Pierre, to relaunch the winery. As at the same time, a group of young winemakers from the region come together to boost the quality and reputation of Jurançon at the highest level, Pierre Saubot decided to join their movement by becoming an independent winemaker like them.
From 1984 to 1988: the history of Domaine du Cinquau accelerates
this is the period of land preparation, planting, reconstruction of buildings, development of the cellars to achieve the premier cru after more than fifty years of interruption: the 1989 vintage Domaine du Cinquau. Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Courbu give themselves to their heart’s content and compete to participate on the Cinquau lands in the revival of the Jurançon appellation.
In 2007,
a new stage of development in the history of the Domaine du Cinquau has been achieved with the construction of a new winery meeting the latest European standards, a vineyard theater and a large reception room.
The main actors in this dynamic are Béatrice, Pierre’s wife and their children, who are present at many trade fairs, bringing their skills and sense of welcome to everyone.
