OUR histoRY
Since 1878
THE BELL TOWER
It is at the foot of this bell tower in the South-West of France that the story begins.
This is Labastide-Saint-Pierre, between Toulouse and Bordeaux, on the banks of the Tarn river, not far from the Garonne river.
It’s a land of convergence, of exchanges: red bricks and Roman tile roofs, here, we talk about cassoulet and rugby, Gascony and Quercy, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic…
In 1878, Prosper Arbeau the ‘founding father’ of the Arbeau winery decided to showcase the products of this demanding land, to make them known to the wider world. The era was one of mixed farming: grain, fodder, gherkins, the family at one point even produced brooms. But already, wine prevailed.
THE DISTILLERY, THEN WINE
Wine has been producedIn the Frontonnais since antiquity, and like second river it flows down to Toulouse. On the other hand, at the dawn of the 20th century, France also needed alcohol. Pierre Arbeau had the idea of building a vast distillery in Labastide-Saint-Pierre while developing the wine-growing activity around the flagship of Château Coutinel. Acquired in 1920, the vineyard is on a remarkable soil of boulbènes (typical of the Fronton appellation) gravel and sand.
Then came Jean-Claude Arbeau who, by introducing bottling at the estate, transformed the family wine into full-fledged vintages, capable of traveling the world.
AND STILL THE SAME DESIRE
Despite the development of the company, little has changed: in Labastide-Saint-Pierre, from the vineyard to the wine trade, we continue to work as a family. At the dawn of the 21st century, Anne and Géraud Arbeau took up the torch, and are working to place the house’s wines in the contemporary world, in France and in the four corners of the globe.
Continuing the same entrepreneurial desire, enthusiasm remains like a family signature.
