{"id":2631,"date":"2023-10-12T15:56:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T15:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chateaudesbormettes.com\/?page_id=2631"},"modified":"2025-12-30T12:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T12:50:12","slug":"lhistoire","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chateaudesbormettes.com\/en\/lhistoire\/","title":{"rendered":"L’Histoire du Ch\u00e2teau des Bormettes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Our vines, like silent historians, have spanned the ages, braving the seasons and vagaries of time. They have seen festive harvests, cellars filled with barrels and master winegrowers perpetuating knowledge passed down from generation to generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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A FAMILY HISTORY<\/h2><\/span>
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Introduced in antiquity by the Phoenicians or Phoceans, then the Greeks and Romans, the cultivation of vines spread very early on the Provencal coast.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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10th to 18th<\/h2><\/span>
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CENTURY<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Ch\u00e2teau des Bormettes: a thousand-year-old wine heritage<\/h4><\/span>
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Introduced in antiquity by the Phoenicians or Phoceans, then the Greeks and Romans, the cultivation of vines spread very early on the Provencal coast. The first tangible traces at Ch\u00e2teau des Bormettes date back to the 10th century, making it the oldest wine estate in La Londe-les-Maures.<\/p>\n

In the 13th century, the Saint-Martin peak, the highest point at an altitude of 111 meters in the heart of the Domaine, was a fortified site within which the first village of La Londe developed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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XVIe au XVIIIe<\/h2><\/span>
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Century<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The monks of the Chartreuse de la Verne : builders of the Estate<\/h4><\/span>
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During the Renaissance, in 1588, the monks of the Chartreuse de la Verne, a few kilometers nearby, took over the Estate which they exploited in mixed farming. They built the Chartreuse, whose vaulted cellars today offer a magnificent sanctuary for the aging the Winery\u2019s high end white and red wines.<\/p>\n

In the cellar we can discover 3 magnificent vaults, large niches in which the screw presses were embedded, completed in 1704 as indicated by the date engraved in the stone, attesting to the important olive growing activity of the estate. According to an inventory carried out in 1790, the mill produced 140 hectoliters of olive oil and 380 hectoliters of wine.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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13th to 18th<\/h2><\/span>
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Century<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The monks of the Chartreuse de la Verne : builders of the Estate<\/h4><\/span>
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During the Renaissance, in 1588, the monks of the Chartreuse de la Verne, a few kilometers nearby, took over the Estate which they exploited in mixed farming. They built the Chartreuse, whose vaulted cellars today offer a magnificent sanctuary for the aging the Winery\u2019s high end white and red wines.<\/p>\n

In the cellar we can discover 3 magnificent vaults, large niches in which the screw presses were embedded, completed in 1704 as indicated by the date engraved in the stone, attesting to the important olive growing activity of the estate. According to an inventory carried out in 1790, the mill produced 140 hectoliters of olive oil and 380 hectoliters of wine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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19th<\/h2><\/span>
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Century<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Horace Vernet and Victor Roux: two key figures in the history of the estate.<\/h4><\/span>
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It was not until the 19th century that the vineyard regained its splendor thanks to its acquisition in 1855 by Horace Vernet, official painter of Louis-Philippe and Napolean III. Passionate about agriculture, he became passionate about the property and built the castle. Unfortunately, he died prematurely in 1863. A few years after his death, the estate was acquired by Victor Roux, a wealthy Marseille financier, who had it restored in 1874.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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20th<\/h2><\/span>
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Century<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Industrial growth: a mining adventure in the heart of La Londe<\/h4><\/span>
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From 1900 to 1930, Victor Roux developed mining in La Londe after discovering a vein of lead and zinc at the beach of Argenti\u00e8re which gave rise to the creation of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des Mines de Bormettes, whose exploitation began in 1885.<\/p>\n

It was at the beginning of the 20th century that the company Schneider and Co set up an arms factory in the neighborhood of Bormettes on land acquired from Victor Roux, owner of the estate at the time. From 1913 to 1920, Henri-Paul Schneider had homes built around the factory to house his workers. 103 small houses and 11 villas with running water, gas, and electricity constituted the one and only miners\u2019 city on the Riviera. Over the years, it has acquired various infrastructures: a food cooperative, a school, an event hall, post office, bakery, bar, public showers, sports hall, etc., allowing people to live in virtual self-sufficiency. This miners\u2019 town, still inhabited today, is the subject of tourist visits organized by the Mediterranean Portes des Maures tourism office.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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From 1980 to present<\/h2><\/span>
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A perpetuated family tradition that has reinvented itself: the rebirth of the Chateau des Bormettes<\/h4><\/span>
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Full owner of the Ch\u00e2teau des Bormettes since 1990 after buying back the shares from the other heirs, Fabrice Far\u00e9 became interested in the vineyard from the beginning of the 1980s with his wife, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne, one of the heirs of the Goulin family who bought the estate from the heirs of Victor Roux in 1929.<\/p>\n

Throughout its history, the estate operated in mixed farming with vines, olive trees, and almond trees. First changes were made by the Far\u00e9 couple in the 1980s, when it was developed into a wine property and the bottling of wines took place at the Ch\u00e2teau.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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H\u00e9l\u00e8ne and Fabrice Far\u00e9 subsequently made significant investments in the vineyard by diversifying the grape varieties. Changes were made in the cellar by insulating the roof and repairing the concrete vats dating from the post-war period, but also in investing in high-end, modern production equipment (presses, cooling systems, compartmentalized stainless steel tanks, etc.). The new generation in charge of the estate is keeping the family tradition by continuing to make the wines shine and offering its customers a wide range of bottled wines.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Near-future<\/h2><\/span>
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A future immersive experience in the heart of the vines.<\/h4><\/span>
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The last stone in this building, a large-scale project around a new tasting and sales space. The necessary steps have been taken to give birth to this project which plans to be integrated into the middle of the vineyards, in the heart of a wine-growing hamlet, offering visitors the opportunity to feel the daily life of the farm and to enjoy a unique experience.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\"This is why I decided to embark on the adventure of Chateau des Bormettes\"<\/h3><\/span>
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Fabrice Far\u00e9, Owner of the Domaine
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What <\/span>initially made you want to take over the family estate with your wife H\u00e9l\u00e8ne?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

The estate has belonged to the family for almost a century and a real need to take concrete action attracted me to agriculture. Allowing this Winery, long neglected, to regain its place among the references of Provence required a lot of perseverance and self-sacrifice and we felt ready, with my wife, to take on this challenge.<\/span> <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

It has been 10 years since you undertook an in-depth restructuring of the Ch\u00e2teau <\/span>des Bormettes. What is your greatest satisfaction?<\/span> <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

My greatest satisfaction is to finally have certainty that I was not wrong about the vineyard, the wine, as well as my team of collaborators. These various successes alone justify the risk enterprise that I inaugurated 40 years ago and which today finds its reason for being.<\/span> <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

What is your dearest wish today regarding the winery which is so close to your heart?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

At the age when we think about passing on the fruits of a life of work, it is very important for me that my children continue this, often thankless but oh so rewarding, effort when success smiles on you. This heritage is symbolized essentially in the duty of excellence.<\/span> <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>