During the last century, Monsieur Paul Gros acquired the property from the descendants of Baron de Saint Légier and gave the Château and park its modern day appearance. Being an enterprising and innovative man, it was he who imported phylloxera resistant rootstocks from America, a disease that had all but destroyed French vineyards at the end of the 19th century. By grafting traditional French vines to their American imports, the crisis was averted. In 1930, Helene Gros married a young naval officier, Hubert Meyer. They lived for many years in different towns, driven by the whims of the Navy, returning as often as possible to Orignac, their home. At the end of the war, the man who was to become Admiral Meyer was placed in charge of negotiating the liberation of the ports of the Charente. A duty which he executed with all the rigour and exactitude of a sea-faring man, before going on to become Mayor of Royan during the sixties.