Château Filhot: The Lur-Saluces Era
The estate remained with the Lur-Saluces family following Joséphine’s premature death in 1815, and under their direction the estate was well maintained and enlarged, and it was subsequently ranked as one of fourteen deuxième cru properties in the 1855 classification of Sauternes and Barsac.
Tragically Antoine Marie Henri died only twelve years after his wife, also at a relatively young age. The estate, which by this time had more than 100 hectares of vines, came into the hands of their son, Romain Bertrand de Lur-Saluces (1810 – 1867), and he and his wife Thérèse de Chastellux were responsible for some significant developments on the estate. They engaged the services of a notable architect of the time, Alexandre Poitevin (1782 – 1859), and under their direction in 1845 the château underwent a significant remodelling, including the addition of two grand wings. They were also responsible for the establishment of the surrounding parkland and Fischer-designed formal gardens, including a small ornamental lake. Their efforts turned Château Filhot, set against the pine woods of the Landes just metres behind, into a most prestigious country residence.
