Five Centuries, Four Families: The Story of Estoublon
The estate, originally known as Le Grand Mas, dates back to the Middle Ages under the Baux-de-Provence nobility. In 1489, the de Grille family, a prominent Arles noble lineage, acquired the property, beginning more than four centuries of family stewardship. The château was destroyed during the 1561 capture of Les Baux and rebuilt from 1641; in 1674 the de Grille family was granted the hereditary title of Marquis d’Estoublon, giving the estate its current name. In 1731, the first olive oil mill was built on the property, formally beginning Estoublon’s olive oil tradition.
Ownership passed through several families across the 20th century, sold in 1922, then to the Lombrage family in 1932. After a devastating frost destroyed the olive groves in 1956, the family made the decision to replant by individual variety rather than mixed planting, which is what gave rise to Estoublon’s tradition of single-varietal olive oils. The Schneider family bought the château in 1998 and began the estate’s organic viticulture and olive-growing program.