There's nothing like a château, a winery or a vineyard to celebrate art in all its forms.

And many Bordeaux wineries have their own art collections ranging from contemporary masters to classical and regional artists.

// Château Chasse-Spleen

For several years, Château Chasse-Spleen has been building up a collection of contemporary art focused on emerging artists. This collection is the result of the choices made by the Villars-Foubet couple, owners of Châteaux Chasse-Spleen, Camensac and Gressier Grand Poujeaux.

In the park and the cellar, permanent works by Felice Varini, Benoit Maire, Liam Gillick Patrick Neu, Morgane Tschiember, Vincent Ganivet, Pierre Labat, Anita Molinero, Guzman and Paeve, Ann Veronica Janssens, Lilian Bourgeat. The rehabilitation of the eighteenth-century charterhouse opened to the public on June 1, 2017 was entrusted to architects Oriane Deville and Céline Petreau. The largest part is dedicated to the art center, 3 guest rooms open onto the garden and exhibition rooms, finally a wine bar extends on the terrace facing the water mirror. For Jean-Pierre Foubet, General Manager of Domaine Chasse-Spleen, "If wine can sometimes provoke great emotions, those generated by art are otherwise superior and indispensable." What Céline Villars-Foubet confirms: "Wine requires a real know-how, but it is a craft, not an art. It requires a real sensitivity, a precise and meticulous work, with cultural, hedonistic and sensual connotations, and we can build bridges with artistic creation, but without confusing these two activities. We are not artists.

An exhibition of the artist Michel Verjux will take place during BAD+, a contemporary visuo-spatial artist, poet and theorist of French art. The artist is part of the contemporary practice of installation. This practice questions in particular the status of the art object, the space that surrounds it and the role of the spectator. With light as an almost exclusive tool, the artist stages the space by luminous data, as Dan Flavin dematerializes it with his neon lights, Michel Verjux cuts it with his "lightings". His work is generally in situ. Indeed the works of Verjux exist only in a space and in a given time. His lightings are induced and defined by the place which is an inseparable element of the work.

// Château Lynch-Bages

Piece of art in a wine cellar at Château Lynch Bages

It is first of all the story of an Irish family, the Lynch family, who came to settle in the hamlet of Bages at the gates of Paulllac in the XVillth century. From generation to generation, the winegrowers succeeded one another on these hillsides which dominate the Gironde estuary, producing a remarkable and noticed wine. Château Lynch Bages is a terroir known as the Lynch cru, classified as the 5th great growth of Bordeaux in 1855 at the request of Napoleon III during the famous Universal Exhibition in Paris.

In the heart of the Cazes family wine estate, the village of Bages invites you to wine tasting courses, wine cellar, tableware store, bookstore, decoration, bistro, hotel**** and gourmet restaurant, butcher shop, bike rental, horseback riding, event venues of events. A whole art of living in an epicurean Medoc.

The new Lynch Bages chalet in Paulllac was designed by Chien Chung Pel - known as DidI - whose father Leoh Ming Pel, who died at the age of 102, designed the pyramid of the Louvre in Paris
Didi Pei had never built a chalet; he therefore relied on the technical expertise of BPM Architects, founded by Arnaud Boulain from Bordeaux, who was retained for the local project management. Jean-Michel Cazes met Didi Pel and his father during the festivities for the construction of the Louvre pyramid in 1986. "I met him during the Ban des Vendanges at Château Lagrange in September 1986. We were introduced by Christian Moueix".

Responsible for the building site of the pyramid for the account of the agency directed by his father, Chien Chung Pel invites some time later Jean-Michel Cazes to visit the excavations undertaken under the buildings of the Louvre. The two families remained close and the Cazes naturally contacted Chien Chung Pel for the new chal. "I like the idea of transmission both in his history and in ours. He also shares our philosophy of openness to the world, his dual culture (American and Chinese) and his perfect knowledge of our country. He is also passionate about wine, and understands the technical and functional challenges that such a project represents for our property," explained Jean-Charles Cazes, Jean-Michel's son, who has managed the family property since 2006. The Cazes appreciate Didi Pei's clean, sober and contemporary style, which emphasizes light and transparency. And beyond this architectural gesture, there is a clear desire: a functional building, at the service of the wine and its development.

// Château Smith Haut Laffite

Château Smith Haut Lafitte invites you to discover the secrets of its sculptures in the middle of the Bordeaux vineyard. Walking through the rows of Cabernets and other emblematic grape varieties of the property, you will discover through unusual anecdotes the reasons for the presence of these works in the vines of this grand cru classé. If the rabbit, fond of young vine shoots, is not the friend of the winegrower, the hare, which does not eat them, keeps the rabbit away and thus protects the vineyard. It is with this winegrower emblem that the discovery of the castle's sculptures begins: Barry Flanagan's bronze hare watching over his plot of Cabernet. Florence and Daniel Cathiard have sprinkled their vineyard with monumental sculptures over the years for intimate reasons and in response to encounters.

// Château d’Arsac

Piece of art in the vineyards of Château d'Arsac

Even if we have named the ensemble of works scattered throughout the property "The Garden of Sculptures", this title is not appropriate as these works are linked to the Château d'Arsac with which they are one with. There is not here the coexistence of a wine entity with works of art, some would say a center of contemporary art in the open air, but a single, global whole : the Château d'Arsac.

This is a nuance that is important to us because we have seen the number of vines grow simultaneously with the number of works of art.

There is a simple reason for this: it is the vine that finances the art.

Without vine, no art! Without art, no image!

Art gives it back to the property: it is its history that it continues to write on its lands which become its support, like a book with writing. Each acquisition is initiated by an event or an idea that crosses the property. For example, in 2002 we received a visit from the artist Jean-Michel Folon. He spent a night at the property and at the end of the dinner he made a drawing on our guestbook. Today this drawing is reproduced in a giant fresco of 10 x 4 m in our barrel cellar.

Or again, our purchase in 1995 of "La Déjetée" by Bernard Pagès, corresponding to the year when we were able to benefit from the Margaux appellation. Arsac was on a new, upward trajectory, perfectly illustrated by this work.

Finally, the annual purchase of a work of art contributes to the cohesion of the estate. Everyone, from the cellar worker to the tractor operator, makes it their own. The arrival of the work of art and its installation is a joyful event celebrated by all. Finally, this happy marriage between wine and art is a point of attraction for the village of Arsac as well as for the surrounding schools which often come to visit us and with whom we have established quality partnerships.

// Château Pape Clément

Piece of art in the garden of Château Pape Clément

For more than thirty years, Bernard Magrez has been collecting his favorite works of art, which include works by great contemporary artists such as Xavier Veilhan, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Joana Vasconcelos, JonOne, Johan Creten... These works are exhibited in the various properties of Mr. Magrez, including the four Grands Crus Classés of the Bordeaux region but also at the Cultural Institute located in Bordeaux. Find the works of the Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute which are exposed at Château Pape Clément. Let yourself be guided by the Art at Château Pape Clément, by visiting the castle and its gardens, to discover its works of art and their explanations. The selection of works exhibited at the Château Pape Clément currently includes, among others, great names of contemporary art & street art, such as: Xavier Veilhan, Luc de Muelanaere, Stéphane Cipre, Livio Benedetti, JR, Bernard Buffet, A-MO, Panchabuse Virut, Peter Lindbergh, Philippe Cognée, Somsak Hanumas, Massimo Vitali, Valérie Belin, Sandrinne Etienne, Rodolphe Martinez etc.

// Château Fleur de Lisse x Barthélémy Toguo

Piece of art in the cellars of Château Fleur de Lisse - ©François Blazquez

Château Fleur de Lisse is giving Barthélémy Toguo carte blanche for an original exhibition curated by Constance Rubini, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Bordeaux. The French-Cameroonian artist will address a theme that is dear to him: that of ecology and the earth. The earth, mother nourishing which echoes the terroir of Saint-Emilion. The medium chosen by the artist is intimately inspired by the work of the vine and the cycles of nature. Château Fleur de Lisse's commitment to biodynamic viticulture is part of the preservation of our heritage and the management of natural and human resources. These shared values are the common thread of Barthélémy Toguo's creation, which we invite you to discover from May 5 to September 30.

Château Fleur de Lisse cultivates the "Winery spirit": to promote the art of living, the taste for beautiful things and good products, a passion that we are happy to share. Château Fleur de Lisse was awarded the International Best Of Wine Tourism Award in 2023 and is listed as one of the world's best wine sites.

// Château de Ferrand

On the heights of Saint-Emilion, a few kilometers from the famous medieval city, Château de Ferrand is a magical place where history, wine and the French art of living come together. Led by Pauline Bich Chandon-Moët and her husband Philippe Chandon-Moët, Château de Ferrand is a key player in wine tourism in Bordeaux.  Wine, Architecture, Gastronomy, Design... today Château de Ferrand is undoubtedly a place where the arts mix. This cultural dimension took root in 2021, with the launch of the "BIC Art @ Ferrand" project led by Alix Dufour, Pauline's niece and granddaughter of Marcel Bich. The Bich family has long been aware of how artists and creators of all kinds have seized upon the simple tool that is the Bic Cristal pen, and has begun to build a collection of contemporary art, alongside the BIC company. This collection can be visited during a lunch at the Table de Ferrand or during a stay at the Château.   

The Château de Ferrand, with the personal and industrial history of its owners, has recently opened up to a new artistic and cultural dimension, which is now giving rise to the unique exhibition shown in its cellars. 

Our partners Art in the Vines