Château Broustet
The exact beginnings of the Broustet estate, which sits close to the autoroute that bisects the Barsac and Sauternes vineyards, on the outskirts of Barsac itself, are something of a mystery. As indeed is the origin of the name. We can only assume that Broustet was an early proprietor, or perhaps even the individual who first planted the vine here. But we cannot know for certain. Sadly for those of us who enjoy having some knowledge of the ancient origins of the estates of Graves, Barsac and Sauternes, where many châteaux were born in feudal times hundreds of years ago, it is not until we reach the 19th century that the history of Château Broustet begins to take shape.
History
The first mention of this estate is to be found in documents from the early years of the 19th century, when Château Broustet was united with nearby Château Nairac following the acquisition of the latter by Bernard Capdeville (died 1861). Capdeville was the proprietor of Broustet, and he also already owned an enclave in the western part of the Nairac estate which had been sold off as a bien national following the Revolution, so it was perhaps only natural that he should increase his stake when Nairac was put up for sale. The new estate that was formed from this union was known as Broustet-Nérac, and the vineyards were of an admirable size, producing up to 50 tonneaux (one tonneau is 900 litres, exactly four modern-day Bordeaux barriques) per vintage. It was in this state that the property was ranked in the 1855 classification of Sauternes and Barsac, both Nairac and Broustet inheriting the classification of deuxième cru when they were divided once again following Capdeville’s death.
At this point the estate was inherited by one of Capdeville’s two daughters (the other took Château Nairac), who was already wedded to Henri Moller, the proprietor of Château de Myrat. As a result, the estate went from being known as Broustet-Nérac to Myrat-Broustet. This it remained until Moller’s widow decided, the vineyard decimated by phylloxera, to sell the property. It was then acquired by Gabriel Supeau, who in fact had less interest in the vineyard than he did in the nearby railway station. He was a cooper by trade, and the railway allowed him to distribute his barrels far and wide. Of note, Supeau also owned Château Canon in St Emilion. As he busied himself making barrels and loading them for delivery, the vineyards were left to look after themselves. As a consequence it was the early 20th century before they were replanted with grafted, phylloxera-resistant rootstock.
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