The estate

A passion passed down from father to son…

A family of winegrowers for seven generations in Cussac-Fort-Médoc, on the château route between Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux.

Generations of winegrowing passion

1846

The family's earliest records

12 ha

Of vineyards today

2005

Classified Cru Artisan

1846
Roots in the Médoc
The oldest marriage records kept by the Brun family date back to 1846: seven generations of winegrowers have followed one another in Cussac-Fort-Médoc ever since, between the Gironde estuary and the Vauban fort.
1863
Jean Brun, the cooper
Jean Brun is born. A cooper by trade, he marries Jeanne Chaigneau at the lieu-dit of Lauga, inherits his father-in-law's vines and sells his wine on the Place de Bordeaux. As early as 1898, the reference work “Bordeaux et ses Vins” (published by Féret) lists a Brun producing five tonneaux in Cussac-Fort-Médoc.
c. 1920
Camille, winegrower and cooper
Camille Brun spends his career as estate manager at Château Bernones before returning to tend the family vines. True to his father's craft, he makes his own barrels in which to age his wine.
1935
Charles, the pioneering spirit
Charles Brun takes over the vines and the cellar. The first in the family to sell most of his production in bottle — a turning point for the time — he is remembered as a keen hunter and fisherman who could talk endlessly about his beloved Médoc.
1959
Jean, the moderniser
Jean Brun succeeds his father Charles, having bought his first vineyard land as early as 1953. In 1959 the estate's first tractor replaces the pair of oxen; over the next thirty years he never stops modernising both vineyard and cellar.
1970
Jean-Pierre's first vines
Jean-Pierre Brun begins his career as a vineyard manager in the Médoc. He buys 1.6 hectares of planted vines and joins the cooperative cellar at Cussac.
1981
The vineyard grows
Three more hectares of vines are acquired: the family estate takes shape.
1987
Shared between two brothers
On his retirement, Jean Brun divides the family vineyard between his two sons: Christian carries on at Château de Lauga, while Jean-Pierre receives 5 hectares that enlarge his own estate. That same year, Olivier Brun joins the property after studying viticulture and oenology and completing his military service.
1988
Château Grand Brun is born
The Château Grand Brun name is created and the first wines are vinified in the family cellar in Cussac-Fort-Médoc.
1989 – 2009
Twenty years of planting
Three further hectares are acquired and turned into vineyard through successive plantings. In 2005 the estate is classified among the Crus Artisans du Médoc.
2003
Sophie joins the adventure
Sophie Brun joins the family business and develops direct sales, both at the estate shop and on the markets of the Bordeaux region.
2008
A new generation takes the helm
Olivier Brun becomes manager. The E.A.R.L. Grand Brun is founded and a further 1.4 hectares complete the vineyard. In 2010 the property joins the Vignerons Indépendants.
2015
The estate goes online
Nicolas Dominguez, Sophie Brun's son, creates the website and online shop: the château's wines are now shipped all over France.
Today
Twelve hectares of passion
From 1.5 hectares in 1970, Château Grand Brun today farms nearly 12 hectares in the Haut-Médoc and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations — still family-run, still artisan at heart.