Château de Camarsac

The Château de Camarsac is a medieval fortress and wine estate located in the commune of Camarsac, in the Gironde department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France, in the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers. It stands on a promontory about 18–20 km from Bordeaux and 26 km from Saint-Émilion, surrounded by vineyards and greenery.

The fortress was built at the beginning of the 14th century under a royal licence from King Edward II of England. It is traditionally known as the “Château du Prince Noir” (Black Prince’s Castle) after Edward, the Black Prince, son of Edward III, who is said to have stayed there. During the Hundred Years’ War it was captured and occupied by a garrison linked to Bertrand du Guesclin, then besieged and dismantled by forces from Bordeaux in 1377. The Canteloup family rebuilt it; their descendants, the de Cères family, held the property for some six centuries and gradually transformed the austere fortress into a more residential château. Further remodelling took place in the 18th and especially the 19th century, when decorative towers and medieval-style walls were added. A fire in 1962 destroyed the interior of the main keep.

In 1973 the estate was acquired by Lucien Lurton, a leading figure of the Bordeaux wine world. His daughter Bérénice managed it from 1992, and in 2007 his son Thierry Lurton purchased it from his sister. Since then Thierry and his wife Solange have lived on the property and developed it as both a family home and a working vineyard.

The estate produces red, white, rosé and clairet wines under the Bordeaux and Entre-deux-Mers appellations from a mosaic of terroirs. It holds High Environmental Value (HVE) Level 3 certification and pursues strong sustainability measures, including extensive solar panels, rainwater harvesting and biodiversity protection. Visitors can enjoy guided tours of the château exteriors, the 18th-century farm buildings and dovecote, the cellars, and wine tastings. The restaurant “La Bonne Table” and various events complete the offer. The château remains one of the rare Bordeaux properties that still fully embodies the historic meaning of the word “château”.