Family
The House of Fumel is "unquestionably, not only one of the foremost in Guyenne, but also one of the most illustrious in France" (M. O’Guilvy).
Since Gaubert de Fumel, back in 1090, its motto has always been: "one law, one faith, one love".
This gives an idea of the importance in the history of the region of this family that came to live at Château de Lamarque in 1841, and whose descendants still own the estate.
M. Pierre-Gilles Gromand-Brunet d’Evry and his wife,
Marie-Hélène, run the estate operations today.
If the Count of Fumel was new to the vineyard of Lamarque, the great wines of Bordeaux were anything but new to his family. Back in the 18th century, Laure de Fumel inherited Château Margaux in 1793 and kept it until 1811. Then there was Count François-Joseph of Fumel who became the owner of the famous Château Haut-Brion, king of the Graves wines, which he inherited from his uncle by marriage, François-Auguste de Pontac, in 1694. His grandson, Joseph de Fumel was one of the great figures of the "Ancien Régime" before the French Revolution.
Despite his legendary generosity and immense popularity which led him to be acclaimed Mayor of Bordeaux by the inhabitants of the city in March 1790, the members of the Convention came to seize him at Haut-Brion to take him to the guillotine. He died with his daughter on 27 July 1794, or 9 Thermidor in the Revolutionary calendar, the same day as the fall of Robespierre.
The Fumels were also the owners of many other châteaux in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries: Brane-Cantenac (Margaux), La Tour Carnet (Haut Médoc), Meney (Saint-Estéphe)
and Barrault (Entre-Deux-Mers).
The last Count of Fumel, Henri, was born in 1831 and died at Lamarque in 1902. He had married Mademoiselle Hildegarde de Laubespin, whose sister Marie de Laubespin, was the wife of Georges, the Marquis of Evry.
These two marriages were the turning point in the ownership of Lamarque. Georgine de Fumel, the only daughter of the Count of Fumel, married Paul, Marquis of Evry, the only son of Georges, in 1901. As a wedding present to mark the union with his cousin, the Marquis of Evry bought the estate of Lamarque, where his wife was born and had spent her childhood from his father-in-law.
Today, the labels of Château de Lamarque bear the two coats of arms of the Count of Fumel and the Marquis of Evry.
The Brunet d’Evry family originally lived in Manosque, in Provence (from the 12th to 15th centuries) and settled in Burgundy in the 16th century. They were the Mayors of the town of Beaune for over 50 years and illustrated themselves in the military defence of the town. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were the owners of Château de Pomard.
Paul-Gilles Brunet d'Evry married Geneviève Colbert and bought the Evry property, in Brie, on 21 June 1698.
Marie-Louise d’Evry married Roger Gromand, a dedicated servant of the State who played, most notably, a decisive role in Morocco, on 8 November 1942, on the occasion of the Allied landings there.
Originally from the Lorraine region, from a vine-growing family of the Haute-Marne area, he decided to devote himself to making wine in 1960.
With Marie-Louise d’Evry, his wife, he therefore set about breathing new life into the vineyards of Lamarque.
The Château
Over the years before Pons, Count of Fumel, arrived at Lamarque, in 1841, the Château had had many owners and had seen many a historical event.
Formerly military in its function, Château de Lamarque was transformed into a wine-making property.
The Domain of Lamarque derives its name from its position in the border "marches" of the region of Guyenne. Along with the forteresses of Lesparre to the North and Blanquefort to the South, the former Castle of Lamarque played a role in defending the Médoc against the attacks of the Vikings sailing up the Gironde estuary.
The foundations, a part of the defences and the chapel date back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
Around the primitive fortress, Pons de Castillon built the Château as we know it today in the 14th century, with its keep, tower, postern and battlements. The Duke of Gloucester and Henry V stayed there at the time when Aquitaine belonged to the English crown. When the province was finally returned to the King of France in 1453, Château de Lamarque served as the residence of several Governors of Guyenne, notably the Maréchal de Matignon who died there on 26 July 1597.
In the 17th century, the Duke of Epernon made a few changes to adapt the building to the tastes of the time and Monsieur de Brassier was the last owner before the Revolution.
The Vineyards
Documents in the Regional Archives show the presence of vines at Lamarque from the 15th century onwards. The wines produced were for the exclusive consumption of the lord.
In the 18th century, when Monsieur de Brassier was also the owner of Château Beychevelle, vinegrowing and winemaking activities took off and a new business was born.
Once the troubles of the Revolution over, Château de Lamarque developed its winemaking activities.
From 1841, under Pons Count of Fumel, business really boomed.
The wines of Lamarque enjoyed commercial success and won many distinctions. Despite all this, however, life on the state was to be disrupted by the vicissitudes of history, and in particular by the two World Wars.
The loss of the men of the family was to transfrom Château de Lamarque into something of a "Sleeping Beauty".
It was in 1960, that the renaissance of Château de Lamarque took place at the instigation of Marie-Louise d’Evry and her husband Roger Gromand.
In training to take over since 1968, Pierre-Gilles Gromand-Brunet d’Evry, took the reins of the estate in 1985, with his wife Marie-Hélène. New links in the chain are currently in the process of being forged for the future with Célia and Elisabeth.
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