
Portraits
Portraits
André Lurton was born at Château Bonnet in Grézillac, in the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers region, on October 4, 1924, a fitting tribute to a man who was to devote a large part of his life to viticulture.
At the age of 20, he joined the First French Army, commanded by General de Lattre de Tassigny. He took part in all the First Army’s military operations, including the liberation of France and Alsace, the difficult reduction of the Colmar Pocket in the snowy winter of 1945, and the German campaign until the signing of the Armistice. For his conduct in action, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945.
Returning to Château Bonnet, which he had inherited in 1953, he continued the fight… this time with vines that were just ready to be uprooted. Which he promptly did after the frost of 1956. He leased 200 hectares of cereal land with the idea of reinvesting the profits in the vineyard… In just a few years, between 1953 and 1995, the Bonnet vineyard grew from 30 to 250 hectares.
"I'd like to pass on my entrepreneurial courage, my determination to achieve, to build..."
André Lurton
Founder of the Vineyards
A willing protester, his commitments didn’t stop there! His life was a succession of battles to defend the world of agriculture in general, and Bordeaux viticulture in particular. He never hesitated to get involved in numerous organizations dedicated to the protection of terroirs and the promotion of viticulture.
His actions took many forms, within various organizations:
André Lurton passed away peacefully on May 16, 2019, at Château Bonnet, the family birthplace where he was born 94 years earlier.
A leading figure in Bordeaux winegrowing, André Lurton has left his mark on the Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers winegrowing regions.