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Pitray has been owned by the same family for the last
six hundred years. Originally, a XV century feudal
manor built by the Prieurs stood on the land of Pitray.
 It
was replaced in the XVII century by their descendants, a
branch of the Ségur family, Lords of Pitray, whose only
daughter married her neighbor Elie de Simard, a former
mayor of Saint Emilion, in 1715. During the Second
Empire (Napoleon III), in 1868, General Louis Viscount
de Simard de Pitray had the present castle built by an
architect from Bordeaux named Blaquières. The style is
Renaissance (Victorian-gothic) favored by Viollet le Duc
and modified by architect Blaquières to suit the taste
of the times.
This impressive building is surrounded by a park
featuring century-old centenarian oak and cedar trees,
and an ally lined with Sequoias.
The present heirs, Count and Countess de Boigne,
endeavor to combine family traditions and progressive
solutions in order to maintain their ancestors’ heritage
and pass it on to the next generation. Their sons
Nicolas and Jean de Boigne have been in charge of
selling Pitray wines since 2003, as its quality is ever
more acknowledged throughout the world.
As early as 1969, their grand-father and mine, Louis de
Pitray, began modernizing
 the
estate and established long-standing commercial
relationships with the United Kingdom and the United
States. Since then, Nicolas and Jean have opened up
markets in Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, Belgium
and Denmark, without of course neglecting their private
customers (including restaurants) in France. In this
age of globalization, it is rare to come across a long
standing family venture which succeeds in this
competitive world.
Pitray is located about 35 miles north-east of the city
of Bordeaux. It is situated on the plateau de Gardegan
just north of the western end of the Dordogne river and
valley. The countryside is heavily landscaped with
vines as the main agricultural product of the area is
wine. It is a half dozen miles from the famous town of
St. Emillion, a village in which they have been
producing wine since the 4th century. Its appellations
(wine classifications) are world famous, along with many
monuments and its monolithic church.
Pitray is open to all those wishing to learn more about
our wine or, indeed, to enjoy the magic of this estate
and stay in one of our recently renovated spacious guest
rooms. |
