Château Bourgneuf: The Vayron Family
The little collection of buildings in the hamlet of Bourgneuf is now home to Château Bourgneuf. The rather understated maison (pictured below) that assumes this title hides in a corner here, opposite the cellars. This has been the residence of the Vayron family since at least 1821, although I am not sure whether or not there were actually vines planted at this early stage; it was only during the middle and later stages of the 18th century that viticulture began to sweep across Pomerol, beginning with Catherine Conseillan of Château La Conseillante among others, and it surely took some time for the vines to spread down over the lower slopes of the plateau.
What is certain is that by 1840 the domaine was an active viticultural estate, as it was this year that the Vayron family purchased 10 hectares of vines from the aforementioned (allowing for variations in spelling) Gombault family, an event described by Bernard Ginestet, writing about the vineyard in Pomerol (Jacques Legrand SA, 1984). The Vayrons were vignerons, and they remain so today, eight generations later. Tracing the bloodline from the earliest years through to today has, however, proven to be a difficult task. I have found no information of note on the Vayron ancestors, the story only really beginning to crystallise after the arrival of Gabriel Vayron, who was proprietor here in the early 20th century.
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