From the atlas
Vignobles Famille André Lurton
At A Glance
Vignobles Famille André Lurton is a family-owned Bordeaux producer established in 1897. Its story runs from the large-scale Château Bonnet wines to Château La Louvière in Pessac-Léognan, so the labels offer two useful views of the family’s work: Sauvignon Blanc-led white and Cabernet-Merlot red at Bonnet, then a more appellation-specific Merlot-Cabernet red at La Louvière.
The Producer
The modern name is closely tied to André Lurton, who lived from 1924 to 2019, and to Jacques Lurton, an oenologist trained in Bordeaux in 1983. Jacques spent decades working in Australia before returning to lead the family business; that international experience sits beside a firmly Bordeaux range of château-labelled wines and grape blends.
Place
Bordeaux is the frame for the whole portfolio, while Pessac-Léognan is the place-name to watch on Château La Louvière. André Lurton helped establish Pessac-Léognan as a distinct appellation, and its appearance on the La Louvière label separates that wine from the broader Château Bonnet bottlings. The distinction matters in the glass: Bonnet is the estate’s wide-reaching foundation, while La Louvière is presented through a named Bordeaux appellation and vintage-specific blend.
Soil And Site
The supplied record does not attach soil types, slopes or named parcels to these bottles. The firmer guide is therefore the label and blend: Château Bonnet white 2024 centres on Sauvignon Blanc, while its red 2021 combines Cabernet and Merlot; Château La Louvière red changes its Merlot-Cabernet balance between 2020 and 2022. Those named sites and grape proportions provide the clearest route to choosing among the wines.
Story
Château Bonnet became the operational foundation of André Lurton’s career through measurable growth. He expanded it from approximately 50 hectares to more than 300 hectares by the 1990s, a change that turned one estate into a substantial source of both white and red Bordeaux. Under his leadership, the company produced about four million bottles annually, making the Château Bonnet label the practical centre of a much larger family operation rather than a small side estate.
That scale was matched by changes in vineyard and cellar practice. André Lurton introduced green harvesting, canopy management and temperature-controlled fermentation in Bordeaux. Green harvesting reduces the crop carried by a vine; canopy work manages the leaves around the grapes; temperature control directs fermentation rather than leaving it entirely to ambient conditions. Together, those choices put fruit ripeness and fermentation handling at the centre of wines made in significant volume.
Vineyards And Cellar
At Château Bonnet, the documented vineyard work begins with crop and canopy decisions, which affect the grapes arriving at the cellar. Temperature-controlled fermentation then offers control over how those grapes become wine. This matters most when reading the range by style: the white is a Sauvignon Blanc-led blend described as fresh and bright, while the red is built around Cabernet and Merlot with tannin structure.
The cellar influence becomes more explicit with Château Bonnet Réserve red and Château La Louvière red 2020. The Réserve has separate tasting material that notes tannin and oak, setting it apart from the standard Bonnet red. La Louvière 2020 also has documented oak ageing, so its Merlot-Cabernet fruit is accompanied by an overt barrel-aged element rather than being described simply as a young red Bordeaux.
Wines
Château Bonnet provides the broadest introduction to the range. The 2024 white is 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Colombard and 6% Sémillon: a pale yellow wine with subtle green reflections and a fresh, bright profile. The 2021 red moves to 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot, with tannin as a defining structural feature. The red Réserve takes the Bonnet name in a more oak-marked direction, with both tannin and oak noted in its tasting record.
Château La Louvière red is the Pessac-Léognan branch of the range. Its 2020 blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet, with oak ageing documented. The 2022 shifts to 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet; fruit character and ageing potential are noted for that vintage. The two bottles should not be treated as interchangeable: the ratio changes, and the vintage remains part of the wine’s shape.
In The Glass
Begin with Château Bonnet white 2024: pale yellow colour and green reflections lead into a fresh, bright white-wine profile. Sauvignon Blanc supplies most of the blend, while Colombard and Sémillon make up the remainder; the result is presented as a dry white whose appeal lies in brightness rather than oak or weight.
The reds bring more body and grip. Château Bonnet red 2021 combines 60% Cabernet with 40% Merlot, and its tannin structure places texture at the centre of the palate. The Bonnet Réserve adds oak to that tannic frame. Château La Louvière 2020, with 80% Merlot and documented oak ageing, offers a different red-wine balance; the 2022 has a higher Cabernet share and recorded fruit character, with the capacity to age.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Château Bonnet white 2024. It is the clearest concise expression of the producer’s Bordeaux scale and blend-making: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, supported by Colombard and Sémillon, from the estate André Lurton developed into the family’s large foundation. Pour it for its pale yellow colour, subtle green reflections and fresh, bright dry profile. It comes first because its label, grape make-up and direct style make the family’s everyday Bordeaux work easy to read before moving to tannic reds or oak-aged Pessac-Léognan.
Anecdote
From 1980 to 1987, André Lurton served as president of the Syndicat Viticole de Pessac et Léognan. During that seven-year period, he played a key role in establishing Pessac-Léognan as a distinct appellation. Lurton, born in 1924, was then working not only through his own estates but also through the formal organisation that represented growers in the area. The new appellation placed Pessac-Léognan on Bordeaux labels as a separate designation. Château La Louvière’s red wines now carry that place through their vintage blends: 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet in 2020, then 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet in 2022. André Lurton died in 2019.
Final Word
Look first at the château name, then at the vintage and grape proportions. Château Bonnet offers fresh, bright Sauvignon Blanc-led white and tannic Cabernet-Merlot red at the heart of the family’s production; Château La Louvière brings Pessac-Léognan, Merlot-Cabernet blending and documented oak ageing into view.
Sources
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/
https://www.bkwine.com/features/wine-producer-profiles/jacques-lurton-of-vignobles-andre-lurton/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Lurton
https://sommselect.com/blogs/tasting-notes/historic-families-of-bordeaux-wine-the-lurton-family
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/vin/chateau-bonnet-white-2024/
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/vin/chateau-bonnet-red-2021/
https://socialvignerons.com/2018/03/05/how-good-is-chateau-bonnet-reserve/
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/chateau/chateau-bonnet/
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/vin/chateau-la-louviere-red-2020/
https://www.andrelurton.com/en/vin/chateau-la-louviere-red-2022/