Château Mouton-d’Armailhacq
In 1780 Louis-Odet d’Armailhacq, the son of Dominique d’Armailhacq and an advisor to Louis XVI (1754 – 1793), married Marie-Thérèse de Laporte, the daughter of Baron Daniel de Laporte. The Laporte family were of noble blood and held a number of titles, including the seigneuries of La Mothe, Mouton et Petit-Camau. This union entitled the d’Armailhacq family to use the name of Mouton and, apparently not being one to let a marketing opportunity pass by, they duly renamed their estate Château Mouton-d’Armailhacq. At this time records indicate there were 52 hectares of vines planted.
The family managed to maintain their hold on the estate during the French Revolution as the 18th century drew to a close, despite owning a considerable estate and having noble connections; perhaps the absence of a grand residence was in their favour. Nevertheless, they did seem to be prevented from taking advantage of the sale of land belonging to their neighbours as biens nationaux (national assets); an attempt was made to secure some valuable land on the Carruades plateau, one of the better sites in the commune of Pauillac, but it was nearly four decades before the Armailhacq family could seal the deal. Even without this extra land, however, the estate must have been very profitable; so much so that, in 1820, construction of a grand château – well, one-half of it, anyway (pictured below, overlooking the d’Armailhac vines) – could begin.
Armand & Joseph-Odet
From Louis-Odet the estate was passed to Dominique’s grandchildren, two brothers named Armand and Joseph-Odet d’Armailhacq. These two were perhaps not seemingly as astute as Dominique, although to be fair there are suggestions that the family were experiencing difficulties running their estate before they were handed the reins. Just as they took control of the property in 1830 work came to a halt on the half-château, and it would never be recommenced. Their tenure lasted just thirteen years from that moment. The vines on the Carruades plateau that they had coveted for so long was finally theirs in 1838, but just a few years later in 1843 the domaine was in crisis and they were forced to sell it all. I suspect the heavy burden of post-revolutionary taxation (brought in to ensure the surviving noblemen who escaped the guillotine were relinquished of their wealth) was instrumental in their failing. In a strange twist of fate, however, Château Mouton-d’Armailhacq, now 70 hectares in size, was acquired by the estranged wife of Joseph-Odet.
