Did the Writer Saint-Exupéry Own This Château? It Was His Great-Grandfather Who Added the Name

The long name "Malescot Saint-Exupéry" can suggest that the aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was involved with the château. He did not, however, own the estate. The person who added the name was his great-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Exupéry, who acquired it in 1827, seventy-three years before Antoine was born.

The first half of the name, "Malescot," was not an old place-name either. It was the surname of Simon Malescot, who became owner in 1697. The present name therefore does not derive from one famous writer. It joins the surnames of two men who owned the property about 130 years apart. Two owners who could never have met stand side by side on the label.

Two Surnames from Two Different Periods

In 1697, Louise Escousses sold the property to Simon Malescot. A legal figure connected with the Bordeaux Parlement, a sovereign court under the old system, Malescot gave the estate his surname. At that point, the name consisted only of "Malescot." Saint-Exupéry would be added 130 years later.

On 5 February 1827, Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Exupéry acquired Château Malescot. He added his surname to the existing name, creating the compound "Malescot Saint-Exupéry." The official château site identifies Jean-Baptiste as the great-grandfather of the aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This is not a vague assumption that the two belonged to the same extended family; the estate states a direct great-grandfather relationship.

The connection should not be enlarged into a story about the writer himself. Antoine was born in 1900, forty-seven years after Jean-Baptiste's widow had sold the property in 1853. His surname remains in the château's name, but the official history does not say that Antoine owned it, lived there, or wrote any of his works there.

Twenty-Six Years of Ownership Left a Permanent Name

The official history says that Jean-Baptiste lived beyond his means and that, after his death, his widow sold the estate at auction in 1853. The Saint-Exupéry family's ownership lasted only twenty-six years, from 1827 to 1853. The added surname nevertheless remained, including when the estate was classified as a Third Growth in 1855.

Only two years separate those events. The family lost ownership in 1853, and the château name containing its surname was recorded in the Classification in 1855. A word added as an owner's name had already become an identifier for the land itself after ownership changed. The present name is not a label for the current owner; it is a record preserving former owners.

In 1870, Fourcade and Boissac developed the château building and winemaking facilities, but they sold the estate in 1901. A succession of owners followed. While the name kept both surnames, the management of the land itself was not continuously stable. By the middle of the twentieth century, the vineyard had greatly contracted.

The order matters. The surnames Malescot and Saint-Exupéry were already joined before the château building and cellars were developed in 1870. In a château story, a building does not always come first with a name added later. Here, the name reached its present form before the physical outline of the later facilities.

The Zuger Family Began with Seven Hectares

On 1 June 1955, Paul and Roger Zuger acquired the estate. At the time, the official château history records only seven hectares under vine. Three generations of the Zuger family continued replanting and rebuilding, and the current official site gives the vineyard as 28 hectares within the Margaux appellation.

In 1994, Jean-Luc Zuger succeeded his father Roger. Today, Catherine and Jean-Luc Zuger own the property, and Jean-Luc serves as general manager. The second wine is La Dame de Malescot. A third family, now across three generations, carries forward a château whose name preserves the surnames of two earlier owners.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was not the owner of this château. The name was added by his great-grandfather Jean-Baptiste, who acquired it in 1827.
• "Malescot" and "Saint-Exupéry" are the surnames of two former owners separated by about 130 years. Simon Malescot left his name in 1697 and Jean-Baptiste added his in 1827.
• Only seven hectares were under vine when the Zuger family acquired the estate in 1955. Jean-Luc has managed it since 1994 and now owns it jointly with Catherine.