Château

Château Croix du Trale

shah-TOH krwah dew TRAHL

How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. “ew” is “ee” said with rounded lips. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.

A family estate at Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne that a father and son built up from 6 hectares to 25, in Haut-Médoc and Saint-Estèphe, with 3 generations now at work.

Appellation: Haut-Médoc
Classification: Cru Bourgeois
On Instagram: @chateau_croix_du_trale
Châteaux: See it among the 629

The château

Croix du Trale is a family’s own making, at Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne in the Haut-Médoc. Michel, from a family of winegrowers, has worked vines since his youth, and his son Stéphane bought his first parcels at 18; together they set up an independent cellar and created Château Croix du Trale, on 6 hectares to start. In 2010 Sandra joined her husband in the venture. The estate joined the Vignerons Indépendants de France in 2008 and has been a Cru Bourgeois since 2013, in the classifications of 2020 and 2025 as well. Its Saint-Estèphe is called Passion because 3 generations work there.

The estate now has 25 hectares in the Haut-Médoc and Saint-Estèphe appellations, 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, at 8,500 vines a hectare, on clay and limestone, clayey gravel and river clay. It has been certified AREA since 2010 and has worked toward Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) at level 3 since 2018. The crop is picked by machine and fermented in stainless steel vats, and Château Croix du Trale spends 12 months in French oak, 30% new. Passion du Trale, the Saint-Estèphe, of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, spends 12 months in new oak; Clin d’oeil à ma mère sees only stainless steel; and a rosé and a white are made from the black grapes, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

At a glance

Appellation: Haut-Médoc; also Saint-Estèphe
Commune: Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne
Classification: Cru Bourgeois, 2020 and 2025; a Cru Bourgeois since 2013
Owners: The family: Michel, his son Stéphane, and Sandra
Vineyard: 25 hectares in Haut-Médoc and Saint-Estèphe; 8,500 vines a hectare
Soil: Clay and limestone, clayey gravel, river clay Terroir of Haut-Médoc →
Grapes: Merlot 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 50%
Farming: AREA since 2010; working toward Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3, since 2018
Cellar: Picked by machine; stainless steel vats; 12 months in French oak, 30% new
Wines: Château Croix du Trale; Passion du Trale, Saint-Estèphe; Clin d’oeil à ma mère; Le Trale Rosé; Le Trale Blanc

Sources

Institutions: Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc: Château Croix du Trale, the classification of 2025, the classification of 2020
Its own publications: Château Croix du Trale: the estate, the wines

Revised September 23, 2026. How I choose sources

The record

Château Croix du Trale is a Cru Bourgeois, in the Haut-Médoc appellation.

The 1855 Classification was published on April 18, 1855, drawn up by the brokers of the Bordeaux exchange for the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Source: Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855

Private

By invitation only.

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