Château La Tour Carnet, Saint-Laurent-Médoc, France

Château La Tour Carnet estate has origins in the early Middle Ages, though the details are largely unknown, but takes its name from Jean Caranet or Carnet, an heir of Jean de Foix who is believed responsible for having built the château tower. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus (Fourth Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

User Reviews

Amy Lacey (3 years ago)
Our stay was above and beyond amazing. Our host made us feel right at home (a home that is a castle!). I can't even begin to list all the beautiful details. From seeing the swans in the moat as we arrived to being served the most wonderful breakfast as we headed off to other France adventures. We loved it all! Thank you!

Nicalena Neary (3 years ago)
Chateau La Tour located in the Medoc Region of France is lovely to visit. Part of the chateau was part of a castle from the 1100' s. There is a most around it. It produces mostly Red Wine but has a nice variety of Whites. The tour is worth while with a tasting afterward. Enjoy.

Jillian Madison (3 years ago)
We stayed at the La Tour Carnet for one night and had a wonderful experience! The staff was very helpful and always had a smile on their faces! The rooms were beautifully decorated and immaculately clean. The grounds were also perfectly manicured and we enjoyed seeing the wildlife (unfortunately we missed the peacocks!) We also took a tour of the winery, which was very interesting. The wine was delicious and we left with a few bottles that we will be saving for a special occasion. Highly recommend if you are traveling through the Medoc region.

Tyler Kaye (5 years ago)
Beautiful chateaux, good wine. Very private tours. Good level of English

Wellington Merritt (5 years ago)
Castle here is awesome with great wine. Inquire about renting rooms within the castle.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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