The history of Château Lilian Ladouys is inseparable from that of the Médoc. The existence of the ‘La Doys’ estate, a name which makes reference to the source in the Gascon language, can be traced back to 1564 when it was held in fief by Jacques de Becoyran, lord of Lafite. Château Lafite Rothschild is in fact just a few hundred metres away from the estate.”
In the 18th century the estate was owned by the Barre family. Over a period of 150 years, the Barres forged the chateau’s identity by building the stunning main chartreuse house and then adding its two towers a few decades later. The initials A. B. (for Auguste Barre) and C. L. (for Château Ladouys) are still visible on the tower stones.”
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in the 19th century
Médoc wines experienced a golden age during the 19th century. In 1850, the first edition of Cocks & Féret named the estate as one of the best in Saint-Estèphe. According to the 1898 Féret edition, the chateau’s estate covered 75 hectares, three quarters of which were planted with vines. The guide accorded it the rank of Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, a status officially confirmed in 1932 and again in 2003.
In the 20th century, the estate was hit hard by the effects of the First World War and the economic crisis. The vineyard was divided up and eventually forgotten. During the mid-1980s the estate was acquired by Christian Thiéblot and his wife Lilian, in whose honour the chateau was named Lilian Ladouys. They made an impact with the 1989 and 1990 vintages which matched up to the best wines the appellation had to offer. It was the beginning of a revival.
2008, love at first sight
In 2008, Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti acquired the estate after falling in love with it. They very quickly poured passion and ambition in the estate, launching a vast reparcelling programme. Construction work on a new semi-underground vat house was begun in 2009. The image of a four-leaf clover appearing on the walls of the chateau became the winegrowing emblem of Lilian Ladouys and features on the label. By a quirk of fate, it can also be found on the rear wall of Château Pédesclaux, a Pauillac Grand Cru Classé under the 1855 classification which was acquired in 2009. Jacky and Françoise have also been co-owners of Château d’Issan, a Margaux Grand Cru Classé, since 2013.