The Château’s Name Was Taken Not from the Victor, but from the Squire Who Resisted to the End — Château La Tour Carnet, Renamed from Saint-Laurent

Château La Tour Carnet once bore a different name: “Château de Saint-Laurent.” But the château’s current name has an origin entirely unlike that former one. It was not a king or a great lord whose name became the château’s name — it was a single squire.

And that squire was no victor. He was on the losing side of the final battle, the side whose château was partially destroyed. Not the name of the one who won glory, but the name of the one who refused to yield to the end, remained as the château’s name — and lives on there still. Tracing this history changes how the weight of the name Château La Tour Carnet appears.

The Château’s Origins in 1120, Before It Became a Stage of the Hundred Years’ War

The château’s timeline begins with the construction of a castle in 1120. A stone fortress was first built there, and over the centuries that followed, the estate became the stage for numerous chapters of history. Its history as a fortress accumulated before its story as a distinguished winegrowing estate.

As for when and why this château came to bear its present name — the answer lies in the story of a single squire, which unfolded centuries after the castle was built, in the final phase of the Hundred Years’ War.

“Carnet” — the Name of the Squire Who Resisted to the End

The Hundred Years’ War began in 1337 and ended in 1453. As its conclusion drew near, in 1451, while Bordeaux was being forced into submission to the French crown, the lord of the time, Jean de Foix, and his squire Carnet are said to have refused to yield.

In 1485, Jean de Foix died. He left the château to Carnet. But the following year, 1486, Carnet fought the final siege in defense of the château, and was defeated. The château is said to have been partially destroyed by royal order. Even so, the château’s name alone did not go to the victor. In place of the former name “Château de Saint-Laurent,” the name of Carnet, the squire who fought to the end and lost, remained as the name of this château. It was not the memory of glory but the memory of resistance that survived as the name. The château’s walls were destroyed, but its name was not.

Castle, War, Literature, Classification, Renewal — Six Scenes Traced by the Official Timeline

The timeline page on the château’s official website tells the history of this castle as a sequence of chapters: “Construction of the Château (Construction du Château, 1120),” “The Hundred Years’ War (La guerre de cent ans),” “At the Heart of Literature (Au cœur de la littérature),” “Classification (Classement Grand Cru, 1855),” “A New Momentum (Un nouvel élan, 2000),” and “Tradition & Innovation (2015).” If the squire Carnet’s story belongs to the “Hundred Years’ War” chapter, then the following chapter, “At the Heart of Literature,” introduces Eléonore, sister of the philosopher Michel de Montaigne and one of the estate’s owners in the 16th century. The château’s masters shift from a fighting squire to a family connected to a man of letters. The official introduction page of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) likewise names Eléonore among the notable owners of this era.

That connection did not end as a mere episode from the distant past. Several reports state that the current owner, Bernard Magrez, established a literary prize bearing Montaigne’s name at this château in 2017. This prize, which carries a substantial cash award, is reported to have been won by writers such as Michel Houellebecq in 2018 and Mario Vargas Llosa in 2019. The bond a single sister formed with this estate in the 16th century is thus renewed, in the 21st century, as an annual award ceremony still held at this château today.

In 1855, this château was selected as a Fourth Growth (Quatrième Cru). It is said to be the only one, among the ten Fourth Growth châteaux, to carry the Haut-Médoc appellation. Then in 2000, Bernard Magrez acquired the estate, and management has continued under him to the present. Both the château’s official website and the owner’s official website agree in reporting this 2000 acquisition. More than a quarter century has already passed since this milestone, which the official timeline calls “a new momentum.” About nine centuries have passed since the castle was built, and about five and a half centuries since it took the squire’s name. Still bearing the name of the one who lost, this château’s history continues to move forward even now. Seen through these six scenes — castle, war, literature, classification, renewal — as the official timeline itself tells them, one château’s chronicle becomes, in itself, a single story.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The château’s name was taken not from the victor, but from the squire who resisted to the end. In 1486, the squire Carnet was defeated in the final siege and the château was partially destroyed, yet in place of the former name Saint-Laurent, his name remained as the name of the château.
• The official timeline depicts this château’s history as six scenes, from its construction (1120) to Tradition and Innovation (2015). The estate’s history as a fortress forms, as it stands, the skeleton of a single continuous story.
• Bernard Magrez’s 2000 acquisition is a fact reported consistently by both the château’s official website and the owner’s official website. More than a quarter century has already passed since this milestone, known as “a new momentum.”