Château Angélus: Georges Gurchy
By 1868 there was little change in the situation, other than the fact the Souffrain involved now went by the name Souffrain de Limoges, and his production stood at 10 to 15 tonneaux per annum. Alongside were the Héritiers Souffrain, who seemed less active at this time, producing 5 to 6 tonneaux per annum, while Georges Gurchy had also faltered a little, as his vineyard was producing only 6 to 8 tonneaux. Together Georges and Pétronille (also known as Nelly) would go on to purchase several vineyards which, when they brought them together, were the origin of Château Laroze. This château lies about a kilometre north of the vines they held at Mazerat.
At Mazerat, Georges Gurchy built a pretty and rather understated château, as pictured in the 1883 edition of Cocks et Féret. Although still listed among the deuxième crus of the region the authors praised the work done and the wines produced, noting that the vineyard “is situated upon the best hills and sables of St Emilion. It receives, from one species of soil, those generous and solid attributes which are to be found in the wines of St Emilion, and from the other, mellowness, distinction and bouquet”. The annual production at this time had rocketed to 20 tonneaux; this was also true of the Souffrain domaine, where production was up to 40 tonneaux. It was around this time, it seems, that the parcel of vines at Mazerat owned by the Gurchy family were christened Clos de L’Angélus.
Clos de L’Angélus
During the decades that followed the vineyards to the west of St Emilion seemed to gain in status, a number of them being elevated from deuxième to premier cru in the eyes of the authors of Cocks et Féret. This was readily apparent in the 1908 edition, when prominently positioned among the premiers crus of the region was the Gurchy vineyard, the new Clos de L’Angélus.
