The Hundred Years’ War between France and England between 1337 and 1453 actually lasted 116 years. Some of the conflict took place on the land belonging to Eleanor of Aquitaine, where the current Bordeaux areas of Entre-deux-Mers, the Médoc and Saint-Emilion lie. As Olala Bordeaux lives and breathes only for Bordeaux wines, here is the story of the 100 Years’ War from the perspective of the history of the Bordeaux region’s châteaux and Grands Crus Classés. Time for a lesson in the history of Bordeaux wine!
1137: Eleanor of Aquitaine becomes Queen of France
It’s hard to imagine Bordeaux as an English territory, yet this was the case for 300 years! This was because of Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, who reigned over a stretch of land extending from the county of Poitou to the Pyrenees. As the most desirable candidate for marriage in France, she was married to the King of France, Louis VII, which expanded the royal realms. The wedding took place on August 1st, 1137 in the cathedral of Saint André of Bordeaux, capital of the Duchy.
Eleanor became Queen of France at the age of 15. She was a cheerful young lady, fond of the arts, particularly the songs of the troubadours, and enjoyed dressing elegantly. She was an independent thinker and expressed herself freely. Her husband was the complete opposite and was nicknamed the monk-king. As the second of the princely siblings, he was not destined for the throne, but for the Church. However, an unfortunate, foolish accident causing the death of his elder brother propelled him to the head of the kingdom, for which he was thoroughly unprepared.
The spouses became estranged. The court was austere and Eleanor became bored. It was an unhappy marriage and they produced no heirs to the throne, only daughters. The marriage eventually ended. The king’s council found Eleanor a hindrance to their affairs and accused her of not taking her duties as queen seriously. A divorce was granted due to her inability to bear male children.
1154: Eleanor becomes Queen of England and Bordeaux wine is exported
No sooner had she been freed than our beautiful Eleanor remarried to Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou and Touraine, ten years her junior. On May 18, 1152 at Eleanor and Henry’s wedding, the wine is flowing from Château d’Issan, located in the Médoc, Margaux appellation (this estate would later be classified as a Third Growth Estate (Grand Cru Classé) in the 1855 Bordeaux wine classification). Finesse and elegance are the defining qualities of both the wine and Eleanor herself.
Henry’s mother was the daughter of the King of England and following the latter’s death, Henry claimed his rights to the crown. In 1154 they were crowned King and Queen of England, allowing England unprecedented continental territorial expansion.
History proved the King of France wrong as Eleanor bore several heirs to the English crown (four sons):
- William (who died at a young age),
- Henry the Young King who reigned with his father until his death 6 years before him,
- Richard the Lionhart, the hero of the Crusades,
- and John Lackland (portrayed by Disney as a villain in Robin Hood. Hard to imagine him sucking his thumb and calling for his mother, Eleanor the Great!).
The latter, who his mother was least fond of, rose to the throne in 1199 and strengthened his position by granting Saint-Emilion exceptional autonomy, comparable to that of an Italian city-state. Thanks to John, the wine is nothing short of incredible!
England allowed Bordeaux vineyards to export their wine on a large scale. Just imagine: Bordeaux is the only Atlantic port trading with England and the Flemish countries. A large English, Breton and Bayonne fleet is loaded barrels twice a year. In 1308, a record number of 102,000 barrels of wine left the Port of la Lune (Port of the Moon).
1259: the King of France confiscates the lands of the King of England in Aquitaine.
However, this prestige would not last. Subsequent generations would clash. The kings of France, Philip Augustus and then his son Louis VIII the Lion, stepped up their attacks to seize the possessions of the King of England. In 1259, this is achieved with Louis IX who seizes the possessions of Henry III (son of John Lackland), who has to relinquish control of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine and Poitou. The Duchy of Aquitaine halves in size and is renamed Guyenne (a distorted version of Aquitaine).
Then came the era of the cursed kings as the Kingdom of France found itself without a male heir once again. After the death of Philip the Fair, King of France, his four sons rose to the throne and died in succession. There was then a choice to be made: search for an heir from the younger family members (the king’s cousin), or cross the Channel to England where Edward (soon to be the third with that name) is the son of Isabelle of France (a French princess, daughter of Philip the Fair, the only survivor of the curse that fell upon her family) and Edward II, King of England.
1337: the Hundred Years’ War begins in Entre-deux-Mers
As Henry II Platagenet had done two centuries before, Edward claims his rights, this time to the French crown. However, it did not go as well as it did for his ancestors. The year is 1337: the Hundred Years’ War begins!
Guyenne, an English heartland, allies with Edward III and faces the French army. In 1355, English reinforcements arrive with the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock, son of the King of England. To defend his father’s territories, he stays at Château de Camarsac, a medieval fortress which is also a wine domain in the heart of Entre-deux-Mers.
Today, the proud owners are the Lurton family, a surname which has endured in Bordeaux and been passed down five generations to dozens of winemakers and to some thirty châteaux covering 1,400 hectares! It’s a whole other Bordeaux saga that will have to wait for another article! They didn’t miss the opportunity to name one of Château Camarsac’s blends The Black Prince, in honor of the knight who became renowned in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.
He defeated John II, King of France, and captured him. He would be imprisoned in Bordeaux and later in England. A major victory for a prince who would never be king, but who reigned as such for ten years under the Duchy of Guyenne.
1452: Constable John Talbot lands in the Médoc
France wastes no time with its retaliation and Jean de Dunois, brother in arms to Joan of Arc, forces Bordeaux to capitulate. French punitive policy is ruthless and the people of Bordeaux call to England to help. An expedition led by Constable John Talbot lands in Soulac on October 23, 1452.
Does the name Talbot ring a bell? Château Talbot would be promoted to 4th Grand Cru Classé 1855 of the Médoc, in the Saint-Julien appellation. After having been owned by the Marquis d’Aux for almost two centuries, the domain was acquired by the Cordier family in 1918. The domain presents its Grand Vin as a champion of longevity, which is also what we would have wished for the English man of war. However, the hero of this cru died in the Battle of Castillon in 1453.
1453: the Hundred Years’ War comes to an end in Saint-Emilion
Yet it had begun under the best auspices: Talbot surprises a unit of French free archers who lose around two hundred men. But on the French side, the artillery thins out the Anglo-Gascon ranks. Then a cannonball strikes Talbot’s mare and, crushed beneath his mount, the commander is slain. The English take flight and it’s all over.
It is at Château de Pressac, which overlooks the valley, not far from Saint-Emilion, that the surrender of the Battle of Castillon took place, marking the end of the Hundred Years’ War.
The wine’s deep purple color, not in memory of the blood spilled, but a promise of the delicious aromas of black and red fruits to come, has a timeless capacity for ageing, just like its history. So, that’s the story of how Guyenne permanently became French again. Fortunately for trade, the King of France quickly granted its pardon and restored Bordeaux’s privileges to export its wines for sale.
Interested to learn more about the history of Bordeaux wines? Do a vineyard tour, visit the châteaux and try some Bordeaux wines. Olala Bordeaux will take care of all the arrangements!
