Château Grand Cru

How one enterprising couple revitalised an 18^th century château and established an award-winning vineyard in the process…by Laura Henderson 

To even suggest that Olivia Donnan moved to la France profonde for a quiet life would be courting mischief. Having spent the best part of the last eight years restoring a Dordogne château while coaxing an under performing vineyard back to life, the more conventional scenario of running a part time gîte business seems like child’s play from her perspective. The Donnan’s full-bodied adventure was laid down nine years ago, when Olivia, 53, and husband Neil, 57, a recruitment executive, spotted an advert in a Sunday newspaper for vineyard property. The timing was perfect. Olivia had just completed her French degree at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London and the couple had been discussing the possibility of starting up a joint business. They arranged to view a handful of estates in southwest France before finally staking their claim on Château Masburel, situated just 20 minutes west of Bergerac, near the market town of Ste Foy La Grande.  

“The château was founded in 1740 by Jean de Sembellie, a Consul to King Louis XV.” explains Neil. “We have 82 acres, three quarters of which are now planted to vine, the remainder a mix of park and woodland and a favoured hiding spot for the deer.” Their hard work and entrepreneurial spirit have clearly paid off, inspired in large measure no doubt by their bountiful surrounds. The château, elegant to the core, overlooks a Turner like landscape, with the overlaid pattern of pristine rows of vines, which merge into the rippling distance studded with towering cypress trees. “I still remember our first viewing with the agent, and thinking that the place needed a lot doing,” says Olivia. “The château’s external stonework was covered with unflattering grey crepis (concrete), the courtyard was an unrecognisable mud pile, and the leaking roof had created enormous damp patches on the walls.” But even at that early stage and a price tag of £450,000, the couple could see the potential beyond the ambitious insanity of the project. Two further site visits followed, and after a structural survey and a three-month negotiation period, they were handed the keys. Financing such a bold move did require a re-appraisal of their retirement plans. “While we could afford to buy the château by selling our town house in Chelsea Harbour,” says Neil; “we knew that I’d have to continue working to fund the renovation work until the vineyard began to generate an income.” Their aspirations mushroomed however when they discovered that the estate’s vines lay on the same clay ridge that resurfaces in the famous Bordeaux appellation of St Emilion, just half an hour to the west. “By that stage,” adds Neil, “we had a sneaky feeling that we’d stumbled upon a viticultural gem.”  

Vineyard affairs continued to dominate for the ensuing months, with Olivia thrown in at the deep end upgrading and insulating the chai (domestic building where the wine is made) in time for the harvest. “I took advice early from Richard Doughty, a fellow wine grower, and recruited Eric Combret, an experienced local vineyard manager who agreed to take on the management of the estate,” she explains. “Having an experienced pair of hands on board at this early stage enabled me to get stuck into the château renovations although we collaborated closely on finding a new market for the wine and planning a replant of the vines that had perished the previous season.”     

Olivia then set about recruiting of a team of reliable artisans and builders to take the château renovations forward. Two local English builders agreed to handle the bulk of the structural works, and she managed to assemble a core group to tackle the plumbing, electrics and roofing by word of mouth. “We didn’t need planning permission to update the existing accommodation,” she adds, “so we knuckled down pretty quickly with the structural changes.” Her first priority was knocking down the unsightly breezeblock partition wall erected by the previous owner, which had divided the property in two. From then on, the Masburel dust and rubble mountain took on a life of its own as flooring was ripped up, walls were sandblasted and false ceilings fell from grace. “I set up a little den in the dining room just to keep my sanity,” adds Olivia, “not realising it would become my home for the next eighteen months. Neil was travelling extensively with work and only back at weekends, so I had no choice but to get on with it,” she laughs. “At one stage we had 20 men hammering and drilling away, including a roofing team of four, not to mention the growing family of skips in the courtyard, which numbered twelve by the time we’d gutted the inside.” A much-needed boost came twelve months in when their first white wine won a gold medal in a French wine competition. “I knew then,” Olivia says, “that we were on the right track with the wine business if we could only keep our heads above the parapet.” 

Eight years on, with a refurb budget totalling £200,000, the Donnan’s are enjoying the fruits of their labour. A crackling log fire welcomes you on entrance to their homely cuisine, in front of which stretches a polished nine-foot banqueting table. The custom designed blond oak kitchen suite and reclaimed terracotta floor tiles lend a nostalgic charm, while Olivia’s keen eye for antiques and collectibles can be seen dotted around the room, including her prized collection of original Indian chapatti moulds mounted above the door, and an unusual set of 150 year-old metallic glaze measuring pots which reside on top of the far cupboard lintel. 

Next-door, the buffed Dordogne stone fireplace in the family music lounge provides a focal point surrounded by three scroll style sofas covered in hand-block printed Monkwell fabric. To the right of the fireplace hang a symmetrical cluster of watercolours depicting Salisbury Cathedral, St Marks Square and English woodland scenes painted by Rutland artist, Alan Oliver. The rough textured cream walls meanwhile create a border between the waist-high wooden panelling and the latticework ceiling of chunky wooden beams, secured by bolt head studs. 

The dining room is a firm favourite with Olivia and has a wonderful presence about it. “I spent so much time in here planning during the initial renovations,” she adds “that I wanted to replicate that mellow ambiance through the decor.” The original tiled floor has been brought back to life, its antique terracotta tone used as an accent to the room’s muted apricot and peach colour scheme. Two imposing candelabras stand vigil on either side of an 18^th century fireplace which features a boldly carved central floral cartouche, while the centre of the room accommodates a reproduction oak oval dining table ringed by 14 high back consol chairs.  

Upstairs the intended effect of ‘light, cool and airy, with oodles of space’, works like a charm. The expansive bedroom is formed from two former chambres and an old family bathroom, now decorated with a combination of cherry-wood and maple furniture, the soft magnolia walls contrasting with the earthy richness of colours woven into the handmade embroidered bed spread. “The remaining attic renovation work was by far the most ambitious,” explains Olivia. “We effectively had a glory hole, which we partitioned into five bespoke bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms. I also wanted to make a feature of the vaulted ceiling, so we insulated between the beams to retain the heat.” Olivia cleverly concealed a labyrinth of pipe work under a length of banquet seating and maximised the available natural light by installing a row of custom-made  windows.

Outside, the shady gravel courtyard is the focal point, leading up to a small flagstone terrace decked with a wrought iron table and chairs, ‘our sun spot’, confirms Neil, “when we can steal a half hour or so to sit down with a chilled glass of wine.”    

Time has also proved a loyal ally in cementing community relations. “The locals were initially wary of us,” says Neil, “but they’re now much more forthcoming and appreciative of the fact that we’re playing our part in putting Bergerac wines on the map. Our red came fifth last year in  Bettane and Desseauve Guide’s top 100 wines from southwest France and we’re now supplying some of the top restaurants in London.” Yet despite the frenetic pace of change, both seem keen to raise the bar higher still. “I’d personally love to start running wine appreciation courses and share a little of what we’ve learnt over the past few years,” confirms Olivia, “and who knows, if I can set aside a little thinking time in the dining-room, it might just happen…”