Chardonnay family
| Chardonnay family | |
|---|---|
| Country | Brittany (Machecoul) and Yvelines (Montfort-l'Amaury) |
| Historic seat | 13th century – present day |
| Titles | Honorary Squire to the Dauphin Winetaster to the Dauphin Page to the King of France Lord Marshal to the Ducal Court of Burgundy |
| Connected members | de Chardonnay de Bicherel de la Marne de La Mallonière de Bardelle de Tremblay de Montfort |
| Motto | De gueules à un lion d'argent langué d'or (aliàs de sable). (Gules, a lion argent langued Or (alias sable).) |
| Estate | Kingdom of France |
The Chardonnay family, also Chardonnet and Chardonnay de Bicherel or Chardonnay de La Marne, is a lineage of the French nobility of ancient extraction, with documented origins in Montfort-l'Amaury in Yvelines and Machecoul, in Brittany. According to family tradition, the Chardonnays claimed descent from the Counts of Montfort-l’Amaury. The family’s nobility was confirmed by the royal council in 1668 and by the Chambre de la réformation de la noblesse de Bretagne in 1669. The family's principal estates included Bardelle, Tremblay, Bicherel, Le Vivier (Vicq), Vigny-en-Drouais, Fresnay-en-Retz, Machecoul, La Marne, and La Tamiserie. Elevated to a marquisate in the eighteenth century, its members figured as courtiers, military officers, émigrés during the Revolution, and later in nineteenth-century diplomacy. Members of the family held positions at the French royal court over a period of four centuries.