Château de Boursault

Boursault, France

The Château de Boursault is a neo-Renaissance château in Boursault, Marne. It was built between 1843 and 1850 by Madame Clicquot Ponsardin, the Veuve Clicquot (Cliquot Widow) who owned the Veuve Clicquot champagne house. It was sold by her heir to the Berry family of Canada from 1913 to 1927 and was used as a military hospital in both the first and second world wars. Today the Château de Boursault brand of champagne is made from grapes grown in the vineyards around the château and is aged in its cellars.

History

There are records of the seigneurie de Boursault from the 14th century, when Robert de Flandre, seigneur de Brugny, ceded the land to Geoffroy de Naast. It seems to have been returned, and given to the daughter of Robert de Flandre, who married Henry IV, Count of Bar (c. 1315–1344).

In 1409, Cardinal Louis de Bar (c. 1375–1430) was given Boursault and other seigneuries by his father, Robert, Duke of Bar (1344–1411).

The old fortress château of the barons of Boursault dated to the 16th century. The surrounding area was covered in vineyards from that time, apart from an interval of one century when it was wooded. By the early 19th century, the medieval château was very dilapidated.

The present Château de Boursault was built by Madame Clicquot Ponsardin (1777–1866), founder of the Veuve Clicquot Champagne house, in honor of the marriage of her granddaughter Marie Clémentine de Chevigné to Louis de Mortemard-Rochechouard in 1839. It replaced the old château of the barons of Boursault. Construction began in 1843 and was completed in 1850. Madame Veuve Clicquot retired to the château at the age of 64 and died there when she was 89.

Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1847–1933), Duchess of Uzès, inherited the château on Madame Clicquot's death in 1866. She was the daughter of Marie Clémentine and Louis. The Duchess sold the property in 1913. It was used as a military hospital in World War I (1914–18) and again during World War II (1939–45). The park was converted to vineyards for production of champagne.

The 'Château de Boursault' brand of champagne continues to be made in the chateau and aged in its cellars. It is the only champagne with the 'château' denomination in Marne.

Building

The château was built by the architect Jean-Jacques Arveuf-Fransquin (1802–76). It was located on the wooded summit of a hill planted with vines, and dominates the surrounding countryside and the village of Boursault. It was set in a magnificent park covering 11 hectares.

The château was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style, to be used for formal receptions. It has monumental architecture with a high roof and heavily decorated windows. It resembles the Château de Chambord, but has many more fireplaces.

The Château Deganne on the sea front in Arcachon was built in 1853 by Adalbert Deganne. From the exterior, this building, now the Casino de la Plage, is an exact replica of the Château de Boursault.

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Address

Boursault, France
See all sites in Boursault

Details

Founded: 1843-1850
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in France

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

고유정 (2 years ago)
We had the most amazing experience here. A taxi takes you here from the train station and Alex who gave us the tour was very kind and hospitable even though we changed the time last minute. He guided us through the castle and wine cellars with its history and afterwards let us walk around the premise and enjoy the view of the castle and vines. The tasting was also very nice and it’s just a shame we bought only one bottle because we had to take the train. Highly recommend!!
Manuela Michel (2 years ago)
The tasting and tour is wonderful, highly recommended! The estate is magnificent, the castle is gorgeous, the cellars are out of this world and the owner (Alex Fringhian) is generous both with the tasting and with his time! If you are around, do not miss it!
A P (2 years ago)
My wife and I, together with my parents visited beautiful Château de Boursault on a rainy summer day. Our 2-day trip to the Champagne wine region – including the highlight of visiting Château de Boursault -was a gift to my parents for my father´s birthday and a wonderful conclusion to the wedding celebration of my sister in the mid-west of France. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the intricate art of crafting champagne, whilst at the same time admiring and learning about the rich history of Château de Boursault. The memory of this visit was made unforgettable by the fact that the relaxed but detailed tour was given by the owner, Alex. Alex having such a strong personal connection to the Château and Champagne itself made pur visit unforgettable. I would of course be amiss not to mention the delicious tasting that followed our tour – which promptly led to us filling our car with a total of 5 boxes of your delicious Champagne. We will definitely be back a to visit again after nd will continue to order and enjoy the delicious Champagne varities produced by Château de Boursault!
Juliana Santos (2 years ago)
We came here after lunch for degustation & walk around the promenade. Weather was incredible, if a little hot, and the hosts were super nice, friendly, and gave us such wonderful backstory and history of the chateau and, of course, their champagne. It was one of the highlights of our champagne tour - and we visited many more champagne houses! Just the history of the place, plus great storytelling, made it. The chateau is wonderful as well. Many great pics were taken. It is all well maintained and very beautiful. The degustation offers 3 champagnes of our choice and all we tasted was simply wonderful. It’s a shame we can’t take more home since we’re traveling by plane. We spent such a pleasant hour there. I really can’t recommend this enough!
Kimi Kio (2 years ago)
Wonderful Champagne Winery with a great host who explained with passion and great knowledge about the process of Champagne production in general, the history of their castle and winery specifically. Fantastic afternoon, time well spent, very personal.
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