CHATEAU DE FARGUES

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE, THE STORY OF A FAMILY  

From their ancestor Françoise-Joséphine who decided on the advent of the harvest by successive sorting, to Bertrand who was at the birth of the AOC and to Alexandre who for a long time presided over the destinies of Yquem, the Lur Saluces are inseparable from these great Sauternes wines. In the 1920s, Bertrand de Lur Saluces, uncle of Alexandre, current owner of Château de Fargues, decided to abandon the production of red vines to devote himself exclusively to the production of a great Sauternes wine. He undertook slow and costly work to completely replant the Fargues plot with the appellation’s grape varieties, Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Even today the same desire for quality and rigor, the same ethics are perpetuated. Fargues wine embodies the spirit of enterprise and the sense of risk and creativity of the Lur Saluces. For more information, you can consult the following books:

« From Yquem to  Fargues »,  Alexandre de Lur Saluces – Gallimard

« Des hommes, des vins et des émotions, souvenirs d’un amateur de grands crus », Nicolas de Rabaudy – Edi­tions du Rocher

« Les Lur Saluces d’Yquem »,  Marguerite Figeac – Mollat

« La Morale d’Yquem » , Entretiens avec Jean Paul Kauffmann – Grasset

LE CHÂTEAU DE FARGUES ET LES LUR

The Château de Fargues, built in 1306, entered the family through the marriage of Isabeau de Montferrand to Pierre de Lur in 1472.

FRANÇOISE-JOSÉPHINE DE SAUVAGE D’ YQUEM

In 1785, Françoise- Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem married Louis Amédée de Lur Saluces. She became countess of Lur Saluces and brought the Château d’Yquem as a dowry. In 1826, she had a winery built in Yquem, a true innovation for the time.

THE RISE OF THE FAMILY IN SAUTERNES

The rise of the family patrimony during the time of Romain Bertrand, first half of the 19th century, the exceptional terroirs combined with the dynamism of the Lur saluces lead to unquestionable improvements in wine-making techniques.

BERTRAND DE LUR SALUCES THE RENAISSANCE OF FARGUES

In 1922, Bertrand de Lur Saluces arrived at Yquem. Attentive to the characteristics of the terroir, he rebuilt the vineyard of Fargues. At the same time, as president of L’Union des Crus Classés de la Gironde, he was at the heart of the defense of the grands crus.

ALEXANDRE DE LUR SALUCES : the builder

Succeeding his Uncle Bertrand, Alexandre de Lur Saluces managed the Chateau d’Yquem until 2004, in parallel with that of Fargues which he still manages.
He enlarged the vineyard of Fargues from 9.5 ha in 1968 to 12.25 ha in 1990 and 15 ha in 2003.
The acquisition of quality plots from neighbors and a planting campaign will almost double the surface to reach, in the next ten years, 27 ha.
He built a modern vat room and cellar around an old barn that housed dairy cows until 1980.
More amazing is the partial restoration of the fortress, started in 2009.

More infos : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_de_Lur_Saluces

PHILIPPE DE LUR SALUCES :THE XVIth GENERATION

After spending several years abroad, Philippe de Lur Saluces returned to the side of his father, Alexandre, with the will to open new horizons for Fargues. Very involved in the renewal of the family heritage, he expresses the firm will to multiply the possibilities of sharing the Fargues philosophy with amateurs.