Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Laborde, located in Meursanges in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is an ancient 14th century ducal stronghold, profoundly redesigned until the 20th century. Although the castle has now disappeared, its outbuildings house houses, and the estate preserves the traces of a park designed by André Le Nôtre. The current brick buildings, covered with flat tiles, are organized around a courtyard and a dead end, with square pavilions and triangular pediments. The site, once surrounded by moat, was an example of Burgundy seigneurial architecture, mixing defensive and residential functions.

In the 11th century, the castle of La Borde-Reullée, ancestor of the present site, belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy. In the 14th century, it was ceded several times: first to a cousin of Duke Philip of Reuvre in 1349, then to the antipape Clement VII (Robert III) before passing into the hands of noble families like Villars or Saulx. In 1470, the estate belonged to the Count of Charny, during which time the dovecote was built and outbuildings still visible. The site was erected as a marquisat in 1645 and transformed into a " Versailles de Bourgogne" by Nicolas II Brûlart, with gardens signed Le Nôtre, before falling into ruins at the end of the 18th century.

The castle experienced a symbolic revival in 1998, when it was acquired by Hervé Kerlann at the Hospices de Beaune. Integrated into a winery, it today perpetuates an architectural and oenological heritage. The remains of the wall, the dungeon and the communes, as well as the chapel transferred from Malain in 1686, bear witness to its rich past. The cadastre of 1826 still attested to a U-shaped building surrounded by moat, which is now extinct, but whose grip remains legible in the current landscape.

André Le Nôtre, famous gardener of Louis XIV, intervened on the castle park in the seventeenth century, during its reconstruction by Nicolas II Brûlart. This ambitious project, completed in 1678, was worth the domain the nickname " Versailles de Bourgogne". The gardens, although partially erased, still structure the space around the outbuildings. The 13th century chapel, originally built for Pierre de Montaigu, was moved from Malain in 1686, adding a religious dimension to the site.

The transformation of the castle into a winery in the 20th century illustrates the adaptation of Burgundy heritage to local economic challenges. Burgundy, a major wine region since the Middle Ages, has often seen its castles converted into wineries. The Château de Laborde, through its ducal history, its royal gardens and its current vocation, embodies this continuity between seigneurial power, landscape art and wine tradition.

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