CHARDONNAY
click on one of the vintages below for further information
Terroir
Château de Pierreux’s 110 hectares of vines are planted in shallow, well-drained pink granitic, schistous, and siliceous soils which contain deposits of blue porphyry from the volcanic eruptions of Mont Brouilly that date back millions of years.
Several parcels, with promising soil, make up this Beaujolais-Villages Blanc.
« Le Roux », 0,5 hectares, mainly granite soil with clay.
« Le Savigny », 0,7 hectares, principally limestone with some clay.
« Le Gonnu », 3 hectares, chiefly on pink granite. This plot facing east-southeast.
Since the 2020 vintage, a fourth parcel has been added:
«Le grand Vernay», 2.9 hecatres, predominantly clay-limestone soil.
The estate was certified High Environmental Value (HVE) in 2020.
The vineyard
Planting density: 8,400 vines/ha.
Age of the vines: plantation 2009.
Pruning: Guyot.
Work philosophy: Growing methods are decided upon vineyard by vineyard according to lutte raisonnée, an environmentally friendly approach. Everything is analysed in detail: risk of disease, the number of harmful and beneficial insects that can be found in each vineyard, the size and number of bunches of grapes per vine, problems with weeds, the health of the vines’ leaves, etc.
Working of the soil: de-earthing, scraping, hoeing between the vines.
This philosophy has 3 objectives:
- limiting the use of chemicals in the vineyards,
- re-establishing the vines’ physiological balance,
- protecting the environment
Varietals
Chardonnay
Tasting
With a beautiful golden colour, this white Beaujolais-Villages gives us intense aromas of white flowers on the nose, then evolves with notes of vine peach and pear. The full, round and very oily mouth reveals a pleasant smoothness. The subtle woody notes signify an opulent finish.
Vinification and ageing
After pressing, the musts are cold-set and then slow-fermented at a low temperature (12-16 ° C), in 450L oak barrels for an ageing of 9 months on fine lees. One third in new, one third in one wine barrel and the last third in 2 wine barels.
The bottling sets up in June 2020, after the blend of 3 cuvées.
Vintage : 2019
The wine campaign is characterized by a fairly mild winter, very sunny and very dry, followed by a rather cool spring and a very contrasting summer, alternating scorching and cooler periods with large dry periods and severe thunderstorms. The year 2019 was marked by some climatic accidents, such as frost on April 5 and 14 (-5 ° C and -4 ° C) at a time when the vines were budding. These frosts induce a heterogeneity of damage between plots and even between vines within the same plot. This heterogeneity will be found during maturation until harvest. The whites were particularly affected. But also breakage due to the wind around April 25 and early June.
The harvest took place from September 7 to 27 with high maturities certainly due to the low yields. Our chardonnays were harvested early in the morning to maintain maximum flavor and freshness.