In the local language, La Caminade means “The Presbytery or curate’s house”.
Until the French Revolution the estate belonged to the clergy,
hence the name “Domaine de la Caminade”.
In 1895, Antonin Ressès, our great grand father, inherited the Domaine du Château la Caminade. This place has a fascinating history, as up until the French Revolution it belonged to a monastery. The monks knew how to select the best soils and in those days, used to produce the best wines.
In 1973, as soon as the “Appellation Cahors Contrôlée” our grand father Marcel and our father Léonce decided to market all of their production in bottles. Château la Caminade underlined by numerous medals and awards.
At the present time, we are two brothers (Dominique and Richard), the fourth generation, run the 27 hectare estate.
The conquests of the The Roman Empime brought grape vines to the Quercy region some 2000 years ago.
Within no time, the wines of the region were recognised for their quality, thereby causing detriment to the production from Italy
In the year 92, AD, the Emperor ordered that al the vines in Cahors be puled out.
It was not until 276 that the Emperor Probus allowed vines to be replanted, and then during the folloowing centuries, barbarian invasions laid waste the province of Quercy and its wine-growing activity.
In 630, the Cadurcien vineyards were helped back to prosperity by Saint Didier,
Bishop of Cahors, to whom the Bishop of Verdun wrote:
“I give thanks to your Eminence fo the ten jars of the noble Falerno which he was gracious enough to send me.”
The marriage in 1152, between Alienor of Aquitaine and Henri Plantagenet, the future king of England, encouraged the developpment of winegrowing in Southwest France, especially in Cahors. The production of “The Black Wine of Cahors”, extremely appreciated by the British, grew considerably during this period..
Henry III of England, “enjoinced in 1225, the authorities of Bordeaux not to stop nor to impose a tax whatsoever on the wines that the merchants fromm Cahors, under his protection, were bringing to Gironde”.
Moreover, during their stopover at Rocamadour, the pilgrims of Saint James of Compostela found the wine of Cahors to their liking, and thereby contribued to its good reputation throughout France and elsewhere.
Cahors wine sales reached their apogee in 1310 with a production of 850 000 hl, representing 50 % of exports leaving from the port of Bordeaux. From 1325 onwards, Pope Jean XXII, born in Cahors and presiding in Avignon, called on wine growers from the Lot to create the pope’s own vineyard (Châteauneuf du Pape).
Over the couirse of the following centuries, despite opposition from the wine growers and merchants of Bordeaux to the Cahors wine trade, closely kinked to the river traffic through the Lot and the Lot-et-Garonne, Cahors wine acquired and international reputation. Famous people born in the Lot contributed to its renown, like the poet Clement Marot (1496-1544) who sang the praises of the “strong, full-flavoured liquor” of his native Cahors.
The One undred years War put an end to a long period of prosperity. A mandate in 1373 offered an advantage to the wine production of Gironde, as it overtaxed the wines of the hinterland, especially Cahors.
Despite this discrimination, which was only to be abolished in the 18th century, Cahors remained a renowned wine, appreciated by the likes of François the Ist, who asked for a vine with the “Cahors” grape variety to be planted at Fontainebleau, and Peter the Great of Russia who imposed it upon the Orthodox Church. In his World History of Wine, Hugh Johson pointed out in reference to the 17th century: that, when it comes to red, the Dutch prefered strong and dark beverages, like Cahors, their ideal wine.
The vineyard represented some 58 000 hectares in 1866. But as of 1865, a microscopic aphid, extremely detrimental to vines, and well-known under the name of Phylloxera appeared in France. It infested all fo France’s growing regions within less than twelve years, destroying the intire vineyard of Cahors.
Despite this disaster, the wine sector was kept in place. But the hybrids used only produced pale copies of the original wines.
However, in 1930, a few pioneers who were convinced of the intrinsic merits fo Cahors wine in spite of its decline, had managed to obtain a legal status for it, confirmed by its classification as a V.D.Q.S. on 2nd April 1951. The freezing conditions of 1956 once again brought ruin to many winegrowers in the Lot. But nobody threw in the towel and everyone set to work again. In 1964, the Confrerie des Vins de Cahors (Cahors Wine Guild) came into being. In 1971, these efforts were rewarded: President Pompidou, adopted son of Cajarc in the Lot, and a great lover of Cahors wine, pronounced the classification of Cahors Wine as an “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée”.