Château le Tros is a Bordeaux winery located between Créon and Branne and more precisely in Tizac-de-Curton, in the Bordeaux appellation. The estate was created in the early 1970s by Roger Jabouin, the grand father of Mathieu Jabouin who is the current owner of this place. A great cycling champion and mechanic by trade, he settled on this clay limestone hillside on his return from Algeria. He started with just two hectares of vines and mixed farming, as was common at the time. The production was mainly intended for family, friends, neighbors but also to barter with other local farmers-breeders. Moreover, for a little anecdote, Mathieu still has his grandfather’s account book mentioning the exchange values of a liter of wine for potatoes, vegetables or even various meats.
“My grandfather was a businessman, generous, hardworkingand very social. Over the years, he created strong, close ties with his clients. He regularly traveled the roads throughout France to meet them and deliver the wine. Years of building friendships with its customers throughout France. Today many of its families have remained loyal to us, proof of the quality of our wines. Some of their children continue to buy our wines! The success of Château Le Tros rests entirely on their loyalty, thank you to them!”
Step by step the estate grew, notably under the leadership of Philippe Jabouin and his wife Florence to reach a peak of 70 hectares in the 1980s. In 2010 Mathieu Jabouin succeeded his father and chose to tighten production by focusing on the best plots of the estate, thus increasing to 56 hectares.
VertdeVin: What are the terroirs of Château Le Tros?
Mathieu Jabouin: We are mainly on clay-limestone soils (commune of Tizac) but we also have soils of coarse gravels, almost pebbles (commune of Genissac).
VdV: Is there a special meaning to the name “Le Tros”?
M.J.: Tros is a derivative of ‘barter’ which would seem to designate a ‘small piece’ in Gascon (local dialect). It is also and above all the name of the place where the château’s first plot of vines was planted.
VdV: Was it always clear to you that you would make wine?
M.J.: Personally, I was lucky to grow up in the countryside but also to be an observer and admirer of my family. Since I was little, I have been passionate about wine and everything that surrounds it. I have always lived with the vines, the wine, nature, the different seasons in the vineyard and in the cellar… the smells of fermentation… In short, a bit like Obelix I fell into the vat when I was little!
VdV: Could you tell us about your other activities, including, among others, Gascon, pig breeding?
M.J.: I was indeed also “bitten” by my grandfather’s various passions such as hunting, gathering, fishing and animals. All of this plays an important place in my life, in my activities and my daily pleasure. For the record, I have had different animals since I was little (chickens, geese, deer, mouflons, donkey) in my childhood.
As a bon vivant, an epicurean but also passionate about animals and breeding, I had long wanted to get into pigfarming.
In 2020 I therefore launched the project by welcoming a few Gascon pigs to the estate. They live independently in a park covered with oak trees on an 8 hectare hillside. For the moment I am discovering breeding and its hazards, but what a pleasure to taste your own farm products. Short circuit quality and good taste are words that go perfectly with our wines.
VdV: Do you have any particular plans for the next few years?
M.J.: In the near future I would like to fight against this crisis in the wine world by seeking new markets without neglecting our loyal and historic customers (whom I can never thank enough!). I want to continue to produce a wide range that is just as high quality as these last vintages (we have been enjoying it since 2015 and 2023 is not far behind!). Above all, I would like to continue to share moments of conviviality around wine, moments of good living, with anyone who wishes. Long live Bordeaux wines!
Thanks to Mathieu Jabouin for his warm (and epicurean) welcome!
Jonathan Choukroun Chicheportiche
Château Le Tros
Le Broustera, 33420 Tizac-de-Curton – France
www.chateauletros.fr