Château de Francs: A Medieval Military Stronghold and Bordeaux Wine Estate
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- English
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page4 sections
History
Anglo-Aquitanian Stronghold
Château de Francs is a partly medieval castle in Francs, France, that served as an Anglo-Aquitanian military stronghold until 1453. Anglo-Aquitanian describes the period when Aquitaine was under English political control. Only part of the castle was used as a seigneurial residence, while the rest housed 300 troops, along with their horses and equipment.
The Ségur family placed the castle at the disposal of the Anglo-Aquitanian authorities. Its military role ended with the Battle of Castillon in 1453, an engagement conventionally regarded as bringing English rule in Aquitaine to an end and returning the region to French control. After this change, the Ségur family was compelled to sell the castle.
Wine Estate
The Côtes-de-Francs denomination was officially established in 1967. In the mid-1980s, Dominique Hébrard, then one of the owners of Château Cheval Blanc, and Hubert de Boüard, a co-owner of Château Angélus, were among those who bought Château de Francs as part of efforts to develop the appellation. The estate is now within the Francs-Côtes-de-Bordeaux appellation, a regulated Bordeaux wine designation whose area includes Francs as one of three communes.
Remains
Château de Francs occupies a landscape-dominating position within an estate whose vineyard has been completely restored. The property contains 40 hectares of vines planted in clay-limestone soil comparable to that of the Saint-Émilion plateau. These vineyards form the principal described physical setting of the castle estate and connect its medieval remains with its present wine-producing role.
Nearby sites
