Château Charmail: The 19th Century
The estate crops up in the very earliest editions of Cocks et Féret, the Bordeaux bible, including that printed in 1850 which reveals it to be in the possession of Monsieur Louvet de Paty, presumably Alphonse Adrien Robert Louvet de Paty du Rayet, at this time. Even at this moment the production level was already at 100 tonneaux per annum, a prodigious output equivalent to 400 modern-day barriques. This would suggest that the first vines had been planted many years before, perhaps during the 18th century when under the direction of Léonard de Paty du Rayet or Jean Robert Honorine Louvet.
By 1868 there is no doubt as to which of the family is in charge, as Cocks et Féret clearly states it is Adrien Louvet de Paty (this can only be Alphonse Adrien Robert) who is the proprietor. Nothing else has changed, and production remains the same. Alphonse Adrien Robert married Alix de Lombard du Castelet, probably during the 1820s, and they produced three children, Delhine, Mery and Louise. The estate appears to have been passed to Louise Louvet de Paty (1830-1909), and she married Jean-Marie Caïllat (1821-1909), and it is not long before the estate comes into the possession of the Caïllat family. The elegant château (pictured on previous page) dates to the 19th century and I suspect that it was built by Jean-Marie Caïllat, although it could conceivably have been his father-in-law.
Please log in to continue reading: