Château Ausone: The Medieval Period
Despite this apparently ancient heritage detail on life at Château Ausone during the subsequent centuries, even as recently as Medieval times, is unsurprisingly sparse. This means we have no reliable indication of when viticulture really took hold here, and who first began commercialising the wines. Nevertheless, there are a few clues, as well as a few red herrings for us to examine.
It is written by some that the land at Ausone belong to the Lescours family, and that in 1341 King Edward III (1312 – 1377) of England ordered Élie de Cours to build a fortress on his land. Edward III was reasserting the authority of the English monarchy, in its rule over both Scotland and France (the denial of his claim to the French throne, ruled out by Salic law, was what prompted the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War), and no doubt this fortress was seen as being significant in achieving his aims. Some have immediately assumed this was built at Ausone, but it seems much more likely this was the origin of what is today called Château de Lescours, in St-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, on the banks of the Dordogne.
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