Château Petit Faurie de Soutard: The Couture Family
At about the same time Marie Ruleau, the wife of a local jurat named Gabriel Couture, was busy buying up parcels of land in this particular corner of Bordeaux. Thus by 1680 the land here was largely in the hands of Marie Ruleau, her nephew Pierre Destieu, a jurat, and also the Hostain family. Much of this land was inherited by Jean Couture, another jurat and the son of Gabriel and Marie, and in 1691 he declared his intention to build a new residence here. By buying out other proprietors – presumably the Hostains – by 1699 he found himself in possession of a large estate, which was almost the entirety of the original Bourdieu de Soutard.
Jean Couture had married Isabeau Guadet, and when Jean died the estate passed to his widow. An inventory she made in 1725 at that time documented the presence of 22 barriques, a part-ruined press, a house and a barn. Without doubt there was active viticulture and winemaking here at this time. Jean and Isabeau had at least two children, a son Pierre Couture (died 1727) who was married to Ursule Pipaud, and a daughter Marie Couture. After Pierre’s passing at a young age, he left everything to his mother and sister, and nothing to his wife, and so the estate remained in the Couture family’s hands. His sister Marie had married Pierre Combret de Lanauze in 1722, and after Pierre’s death in 1727 it was Isabeau, Marie and Pierre who were responsible for the running of the estate. With the passing of Isabeau the estate came to the next generation, so that by 1741 the property was in the hands of Pierre Combret de Lanauze and his wife.
