Château Fonbadet: The 20th Century
As the end of the 19th century drew nearer it seems that the Veuve Chancel (Cora de Gères) was also deceased, as writing in Les Vins de Médoc (Féret et Fils, 1897) Edouard Féret notes that the estate, referred to as Château Gères-Fonbadet and still turning out a very respectable 65 hectares, was now in the joint ownership of the Clark [sic] and de Larose families. It seems to me that this inheritance can be best explained if a daughter born to Cora de Gères had married into the de Larose family, best associated with Château Gruaud-Larose and Château Larose-Trintaudon of course, although it is also possible that the family bought into the estate.
At the time the vineyard was hit hard by phylloxera, the production described above only maintained by major work in the vineyard, with new plantings in 1885 and 1898.
Please log in to continue reading: