The oldest archives retained at the château date back to 1670. The name “Dauphine” first appears in a transfer deed dating from 1684.. J-F Proteau sold La Dauphine to the Olivier family in 1709. Jean Olivier was an adviser to the King and in charge of the finances of the Guyenne region. La Dauphine was to remain in the same family for nearly three centuries.
The château was built between 1744 and 1750 by Jean-Baptiste de Richon, lawyer to the Paris parliament and a civil and criminal judge in the Duchy of Fronsac. Princess Maria-Josepha of Saxony, the Dauphine of France, wife of Louis, Dauphin of France and mother of the last kings of France including Louis XVI, spent several days at the château soon after it was built. Her visit contributed to the development of the property’s reputation.
In 1985 François-Régis Marcetteau de Brem, the last descendant of the Olivier family, sold La Dauphine to the Moueix family of Libourne (Pétrus, Châteaux Trotanoy and Magdeleine). In turn, Jean Halley acquired Château de la Dapuhine from the Moueix family in 2000.
Jean Halley (former director and co-founder of the Promodès Group) bought the property from the Moueix family in 2000. New technical facilities were built in 2001, in time for the 2002 vintage, the vineyard was restructured and the château was restored to its original form.
Since his death in 2011, Jean’s son Guillaume has been in charge of the property.
The domain has been built up gradually over its 350-year history and today there are 40 hectares under vine. This makes it one of the largest properties in the Libourne region.