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Origin and history

The Coureau estate, also known as Château du Coureau, is located on horseback in the communes of Salles-d' Angles (Charente) and Celles (Charente-Maritime), 12 km from Cognac. Crossed by the River Born, it belonged to the Saulnier family as early as 1612, when Jacques Saulnier, squire, the acquirer of Charlotte de La Rochefoucauld. The Saulniers, though noble, remained vassals of the seigneurs de Salles and de Genté until the Revolution, without the right of justice. The estate then included two fiefs (Grand and Petit Coureau), estimated at 100 pounds of annual rent in 1703.

In 1788, the last Saunier sold the Coureau to Antoine de Salignac, who removed his particle during the Revolution. His son, Pierre-Antoine, developed the vineyard (25 ha of vines in 1820) and founded the Société des Proprietaires Vinicoles de Cognac in 1838. The 1850 cadastre reveals an 18th century house, organized around a square courtyard, with five buildings: the Grand Coureau (logis), the Petit Coureau (farm), a runaway, and two mills (water and wind). In 1857, Georges de Salignac had a landscaped park built by the Count of Chulot, including a piece of water and a metal greenhouse designed by André Michelin's workshops.

Louis de Salignac built the present castle around 1870, accompanied by a farm and an innovative greenhouse. When he died in 1907, the estate passed to the Castillon du Perron, family linked to the house Hennessy. Charles Castillon du Perron, owner from 1918 to 1938, added a colonnade terrace and employed seven gardeners to maintain the 25-hectare park, planted with redwood trees and bald cypresses. The estate, always private, combines farm (vignes, PEFC certified wood) and family residence. Since 2019, it has been recognized by the Heritage Foundation and registered in the General Inventory.

The Château du Coureau was used as a setting for film shoots, such as The Cursed (2021, Sean Ellis) and the TV film Le crime sont so good (2021, France 2). The park, designed for pleasure and operation, also houses a pre-1625 windmill and a 17th-century dovecote. Although not open to the public, the estate remains a testimony of Charente wine and architectural history, still owned by the descendants of the Castillon du Perron.

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