Château Branaire-Ducru: Four Crowns

Although he inherited a share, Comte Alfred Ravez seems to have played no further part in the story of Château Branaire-Ducru. This is despite having married, the union having given him at least one son, Jean Amédée Ravez (died 1952) who inherited his father’s title. From this point on it is the Carbonnier de Marzac family who took control. Presumably Alfred ceded his share to his sister’s descendants, or perhaps they bought him out. Whatever the mechanism, within a few years the property was held exclusively by this family, divided between three principal owners.

The first of the three was the aforementioned Comte Marc Paul Louis Marquis de Carbonnier de Marzac, who had been fortunate enough secure a portion of the estate through his marriage to Marie de Pichard de La Tour. But now two other noblemen also had a stake. The first was Comte Jean-Louis Henri du Périer de Larsan (1844 – 1908), a magistrate and politician; he had married Marie-Louise Madeleine de Carbonnier de Marzac (1855 – 1928), who was a sister to Comte Marc Paul Louis. They had several children, of whom the first-born was Yvonne du Périer de Larsan, who on 28th March 1894 had married Comte Joseph Jean Baptiste Imbart de La Tour (1859 – 1934). This nobleman, author, landowner and member of the Académie d’Agriculture therefore also held a one-third share in the estate. The estate thus passed, in a short space of time, through the hands of these four noblemen, whose roles are today commemorated on the Château Branaire-Ducru label by the four crowns, one in each corner (see box).

Even with these noble hands on the tiller, though, the estate’s future was not as secure as it might seem. In a few more years, in 1919 to be precise, the estate was sold.

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