Petrus: The Inheritance
During the 1950s Petrus went from strength to strength, its position in the UK largely the work of Ronald Avery, of the Bristol-based wine merchant of the same name. The vineyard was hard hit by the great frost of 1956, nevertheless some vines survived and, although production dropped off, under Madame Loubat’s direction it soon rose again to match earlier levels. She remained at the helm of Petrus until 1961, when she eventually succumbed, at the age of 85 years. She died without issue, as noted above her husband Edmond Loubat having died many years previously, and since that time she appears to have dedicated her life to her vines, and to the church. She bequeathed her estate in part to a niece, in part to a nephew, and in part to Jean-Pierre Moueix.
As I explained earlier in this profile Madame Edmond Loubat had been born Marie-Louise Garitey, and she had two sisters. One of these, Marie Marthe Garitey (1882 – 1968) had married Jean Marie Paul Lacoste on September 5th, 1904, and they had a daughter named Lily Lacoste; this was the niece who inherited a share. Her other sister was Marie Élisabeth Joséphine Ida Garitey (1885 – 1963) and she married Élie Ernest André Lignac on October 26th, 1909. They had a son, this being the nephew who inherited a share; I believe his name was Robert Lignac. Not all of the branches of the family saw eye-to-eye, I believe, and Jean-Pierre’s role, empowered by his possession of the third share and still holding responsibility for the vineyard and winemaking, was to deal with this difficult arrangement. It did not last long though, as just a few years later Jean-Pierre Moueix bought the Lignac share, and thus he gained majority control over the property. Petrus was now largely in the hands of the Moueix family, although Lily Lacoste still held a large slice, of course. Eventually, that part also came into the ownership of the Moueix family. Lily Lacoste eventually died in 2006, having been made a ward of the court in 2002, as described in my profile of Château Latour à Pomerol.
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