Château La Gurgue

The château

La Gurgue adjoins Château Margaux, and in 1922 a few of its parcels lay inside its neighbor’s clos. In the 18th century its vines belonged to the priory of the parish of Margaux; they were detached and sold in 1791, and from 1825 they belonged to the Lanoire family, whose name the wine carried in the books until the 1860s. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, placed Lanoire of Margaux among his troisièmes crus in his edition of 1853. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list it as Château Lagurgue from 1868 and among the crus bourgeois supérieurs from 1874. By 1922 it belonged to A. Lavandier, who had added 6 hectares of vines from Château Malescot, and the 1916 had sold for 3,600 francs a tonneau (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) and the 1917 for 4,000. Two of its owners, Lanoire and Lavandier, were mayors.

In 1978 Jacques Merlaut bought La Gurgue and gave it to his only daughter, Bernadette, and Claire Villars-Lurton took over from her mother. Claire also owns Château Ferrière in Margaux and Château Haut-Bages Libéral in Pauillac, and with Gonzague Lurton she runs G&C Lurton Estates, 5 properties in all: Durfort-Vivens, Ferrière, Haut-Bages Libéral, La Gurgue and Acaibo. La Gurgue has been made in the cellar of Ferrière since 1992.

The 10 hectares are deep gravel on limestone marl, planted 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, certified organic in 2016 and biodynamic, by Demeter and Biodyvin, in 2018. The wine spends about 12 months in wood and in ovoid tanks, about 60% in barrel and 40% in tank, a share that moves a little with the vintage. I tasted the 2016 in January 2025, at a masterclass of the Lurton estates beside Durfort-Vivens, Ferrière and Haut-Bages Libéral, and of the 5 wines it was my favorite, with the fine, silky tannins that the Margaux wines showed that day.

At a glance

Appellation

Margaux

Commune

Margaux, next to Château Margaux

Classification

No classification

Owner

Claire Villars-Lurton; the Merlaut family since 1978

Vineyard

10 hectares

Soil

Deep gravel on limestone marl Terroir of Margaux →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 45%, Petit Verdot 5%

Farming

Organic since 2016; biodynamic, Demeter and Biodyvin, since 2018

Cellar

Made at Château Ferrière since 1992; about 12 months, about 60% in barrel and 40% in ovoid tanks

The house

G&C Lurton Estates: also Durfort-Vivens, Ferrière, Haut-Bages Libéral and Acaibo

In history

Château Lagurgue, a cru bourgeois supérieur from 1874