Today's Commanderie has inherited centuries-old traditions. Here is a brief history: In the Middle Ages, a religious order founded a church at Benon, near Saint-Laurent Médoc, then a second one near Arcins. Vine husbandry, winemaking, and trade quickly became the principal resources of these soldier-monks and peasants. They not only took care of themselves, but also advised, assisted, and protected the winegrowers in the neighbouring villages of Margaux, Soussans, Avensan, and Moulis, thereby playing an important role in the life of the region.
The present-day organisation of the Commanderie dates from just after the Second World War (1949), but has remained faithful to the spirit of its predecessors. In 1959, the Graves brotherhood merged with that of the Medoc to form a single Commanderie and in the same year, the Commanderie du Bontemps de Sauternes et Barsac was founded under our patronage.
On 24th June 2000, the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves and the Commanderie du Bontemps de Sauternes et Barsac formed a single unit, representing winegrowers along the entire left bank of the Garonne River and Gironde Estuary.