Our History
The history of our company is inseparable from the destiny of our family, the Lurtons, winegrowers in the Bordeaux region for several generations. For decades, we have been striving for wine excellence, not only in Bordeaux, but also beyond our borders, in one of the world’s great wine-growing terroirs. As far back as the 17th century, our Récapet ancestors, millers and winegrowers, cultivated a few rows of vines near the famous village of Saint-Émilion.
"All passions are hereditary."
L. Maheux-Forcier
1650
19th century
1897
1923
1953
1965
1970
1973
1974
1985
1990
2000
1650
In the middle of the 17th century, our Récapet ancestors were millers in the parish of Saint-Laurent-des Combes, not far from the famous village of Saint-Émilion, and were already cultivating, in their spare time, a few plots of vines for their own consumption.
19th century
Two centuries later, through a series of family alliances, we find our little peasant-winegrowers further south, on the banks of the Dordogne, where they have settled in Branne, an important rural town with a strong commercial activity at the time. They decided to put winegrowing to a side for a while and opened a small café and decided to embark on a new activity: that of distillers. The Récapet brothers’ “Brasserie du Nord” produced liqueurs and imports beers from Bavaria. The small family business is a success.
It was here, in 1858, that Jean-François Récapet, nicknamed “Léonce”, was born…
Léonce Récapet (1858 – 1943)
“You have to take men as they are, time as it comes and money as it goes.”
Léonce Recapet
An inquisitive and ingenious mind, Léonce Récapet forged his education by working alongside his father and uncle. In this way, he learned far more than he would have been able to with a long course of study. When he came of age to take over the family distillery, he completely modernized it, applying the principles of modern marketing well ahead of his time. In the 1880s, the “Brasserie du Nord” soon gave way to the “Distillerie Moderne”. Forging strong commercial links, enriching the range of liqueurs on offer over the years (rum, cinchona, syrups, etc.), the small family business prospered.
In 1894, Léonce married Emma Thibeaud, daughter of an owner-vinegrower in Moulon whose ranks included a number of coopers. Once again, winegrowing was a family affair.
But Léonce’s dreams were not confined to the future of the distillery: his ambition was also to embark on his own winegrowing adventure. It was with our ancestor Léonce that the passion for viticulture really took root in our family.
1897
It was with our ancestor Léonce that the passion for viticulture really took root in our family. At a time when the vineyards of Bordeaux were suffering from the onslaught of phylloxera, and many overwhelmed owners were selling their properties, Léonce Récapet bought, hoping for better days.
In 1897, he acquired Château Bonnet in Grézillac, with its 47 hectares of land, vines and meadows.
By 1897, the Bonnet property was in a state of disrepair, but that didn’t discourage our ancestor Léonce Récapet. On the contrary, he saw it as a challenge worthy of him. The Bonnet estate became a formidable experimental site for this avant-garde man: replanting of the vineyard, selection of the best grape varieties, construction of new cellars in 1902, in which the steam engine made harvesting easier. Léonce read widely, kept abreast of the latest growing and winemaking techniques, and put the best of them into practice. And he didn’t stop there: around 1915, he also became an architect, building the tower that still dominates the château today.
Three children were born of his union with Emma Thibeaud: Marie (who died in infancy), André and Denise.
André, our great-uncle, on whom his father’s hopes rested, was sent to complete his education at the Institut Agricole International de Beauvais, which was training the best agricultural executives at the time. Fresh out of school, with his agricultural engineering diploma in his pocket, and with war against Germany only just declared, the young man was called up for military service. In the spring of 1916, he died in Verdun under enemy bombardment, putting an end to a promising future.
1923
Léonce and Emma had prematurely lost two of their three children. They were left with only one heiress: Denise, our grandmother. In 1923, she married François Lurton, a man from the city whose carpenter ancestors of Berrichon origin had come to Bordeaux after the Revolution. The young couple settled at Château Bonnet under the benevolent eye of Léonce.
Léonce taught his son-in-law François the rudiments of viticulture. In 1925, the family bought Château Brane-Cantenac, Second Grand Cru Classé in 1855, in the Médoc. A few years later, our industrious Léonce became a shareholder in the illustrious Château Margaux.
Happiness would have been perfect if our grandmother Denise hadn’t died of her own illness in 1934. She left four orphans at an early age: André (our father), born in 1924, Lucien in 1925, Simone in 1929 and Dominique in 1932.
A few years later, of mourning, life slowly returned to normal at Château Bonnet. Our great-grandfather Léonce managed his grandchildren’s estate until his death in 1943. Our grandfather, François Lurton, who had assisted him until then, continued to manage the estate until Dominique came of age in 1953.
Denise and François Lurton’s 4 children: André, Lucien, Simone and Dominique.
1953
In 1953, our grandmother Denise’s four children shared the estate. André Lurton, the eldest, retained Château Bonnet, the family birthplace. Lucien inherited Brane-Cantenac and Dominique, Château Reynier.
The torch was now passed on… as was the passion for vines and wine that had driven Léonce Récapet throughout his life…
But the viticultural situation was very difficult at the time. The frost of 1956 had forced many winegrowers into bankruptcy, and our father André quickly realized the immense task that lay ahead.
An insatiable Géo Trouvetou, a quality inherited from his grandfather Récapet, our father always sought to innovate, both in the vineyard and in winemaking.
After leasing farmland to grow cereals and alfalfa, he went into the forage dehydration business. This enabled him to finance the replanting and extension of the Château Bonnet vineyard, which grew from 50 ha in 1953 to 300 ha today under full ownership.
The headquarters of our company, Les Vignobles André Lurton, were naturally set up at Château Bonnet, the birthplace of our family.
1965
Purchase of Château La Louvière in Léognan, marking André Lurton’s arrival in the Graves region, the cradle of Bordeaux wines. Fifty years were needed to restore this estate with its long-standing reputation. Replanting, modernization, restoration and preservation will be the watchwords of our father André, for this jewel of the AOC Pessac-Léognan.
1970
Purchase of the Château Couhins-Lurton vineyard. As farmer of the Couhins vineyards since 1967, André Lurton saved this Graves Cru Classé from extinction. In 1970, our father bought a large parcel of the vineyard from INRA, thus dividing the Cru Classé.
Classified in 1953 for its white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes alone, the vineyard was the focus of much attention.
1973
Purchase of Château de Cruzeau in Saint-Médard d’Eyrans (AOC Pessac-Léognan). This estate, with its exceptional gravelly terroir, was then abandoned and waiting to be taken in hand. And so it was: clearing, renovation, restoration, deforestation, planting and replanting followed one another.
In 2001, an ageing cellar was built to hold two thousand barrels, with a large reception room alongside.
1974
Purchase of Château de Rochemorin in Martillac. 1973 was an important date in the history of Château de Rochemorin. It marked the beginning of a new era, with the arrival of André Lurton, a winegrower from the Entre-Deux-Mers region, in love with this Graves region and a great defender of its vineyards and wines, as Montesquieu was in his time.
1985
Purchase of Château de Quantin, in the commune of Saint-Médard d’Eyrans (AOC Pessac-Léognan), whose vineyard, planted on some 30 hectares of fine gravel terroir, had previously been neglected in favor of horse breeding. We were going to give it a new lease of life.
1990
Purchase of Château Grossombre by our sister Béatrice. A small vineyard was attached to this ancient manor house, which can be traced back to 1484, giving rise to a beautiful unit of almost 25 hectares of vines.
2000
Purchase of 50% of Château de Barbe Blanche. The other half is held by André Magnon. This beautiful 28-hectare vineyard is located in the heart of the Lussac-Saint-Émilion AOC appellation. The Merlot grape is predominant here, producing great red wines.
