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Origin and history

The castle of Fargues is a medieval fortress built in the 14th century by Raymond-Guilhem, nephew of Pope Clement V, on the commune of Fargues in Gironde. This lord of Fargues, who became cardinal in 1306, built this emblematic monument, which later became the property of the Lur family by marriage in 1472, then of the Lur Saluces in 1586. The site, strategic in the Bordeaux vineyard, was profoundly transformed in the seventeenth century before being ravaged by a fire in 1687.

In the 17th century, Marquis Honoré de Lur Saluces undertook to enlarge and strengthen the fortress, but a devastating fire in 1687 marked its decline. Despite partial repairs attested in 1727, the castle was gradually abandoned to other family estates such as Yquem or Malle. Vegetation and time ended to degrade the ruins, until Bertrand de Lur Saluces, in the 1920s, revived the winery by favouring the production of liquid wines on 15 hectares of exceptional terroir.

The renaissance of the castle began in the 20th century under the impetus of Alexander of Lur-Saluces, who undertook major restoration work between 2000 and 2015. Today, listed in the Historical Monuments (2007), the site combines medieval remains and wine-growing activity, producing a famous Sauternes thanks to an encépagement dominated by the semillon (80%) and the Sauvignon (20%). The estate, open to cultural manifestations, perpetuates an ancestral know-how of harvests by successive sortings, linked to Botrytis cinerea, a fungus at the origin of "noble rot".

The terroir of Fargues, composed of serious and clays, enjoys a microclimate conducive to the production of exceptional sweet wines. The winemaking, long and meticulous, includes a 6 week fermentation and a 30-36 month ageing in oak barrels. With an average yield of 1,000 bottles per hectare, the castle illustrates the alliance between architectural heritage and oenological heritage, from its medieval origins to its contemporary recognition.

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