Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Malle, located in Preignac en Gironde, is a castle built in the early seventeenth century by Jacques de Malle, President of the Parliament of Bordeaux. This wine estate, classified as a historical monument, extends over the serious and locust appellations, and is one of the second vintages of the classification of 1855. Its architecture combines classicism and Renaissance influences, with a court of honor framed by wings completed by towers.

For 400 years, the castle remains in the same family by inheritance. The first construction, dating from 1598, was the work of Arnaud de Malle, a Bordeaux bourgeois. His son, Jacques de Malle, built the present castle and launched the production of white wine. The estate then passed to the Lur-Saluces by marriage in 1672, which embellished the park with French gardens and added their coat of arms to the facades. The castle was marked by the Revolution: Claude Henri de Lur-Saluces, seigneur of Malle, was guillotine in 1793.

In the 19th century, the estate was managed by Henri de Lur-Saluces, Senator de Gironde, and ranked second grand cru in 1855. The phylloxera reduces the vineyard from 40 to 15 hectares under Pierre de Lur-Saluces. After several family transfers, the castle was abandoned in 2018. In 2024, Luc Planty, former director of the château Guiraud, and his wife Clémence bought the estate, starting his conversion to organic farming and opening it to the public.

The architecture of the castle, classified as a historical monument in 1949, is characterized by a body of central houses flanked by back wings and cylindrical towers. The 6 hectares of Italian gardens, classified in 1943, include terraces, basins and mythological statues. The estate, which has been open to wine tourism since 2024, offers visits combining historical and wine heritage, with a project to arrange rooms for seminars.

The vineyard of 38 hectares, present since 1666, produces dry and liquorous white wines under the appellations sautnes and graves. The phylloxera crisis and a freeze in 1956 marked its history. Today, the Château de Malle combines heritage preservation and wine innovation, with a production now organic.

External links