The vineyards of the Beaujolais region are very hilly. They are delimited on one side by the foothills of France’s Massif Central mountain range and overlook the Saône River’s floodplain between Mâcon and Lyon. Nestled at the foot of Mont Brouilly, Château de Pierreux is one of the most beautiful residences in the Beaujolais region.

Several centuries of history have shaped this ancient 13th-century fortified house of which two towers still stand today. The castle was renovated several times over the centuries. Its vaulted cellars date back to the 17th century while the current building was erected in the 19th century.

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.

The estate was certified High Environmental Value (HVE) in 2020.

Planting density: 6,000 to 10,000 vines/ha
Age of the vines: 42% of the plots are over 40 years old.
Pruning: gobelet & Cordon

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:

100% Gamay

With a beautiful intense blueberry color, this Brouilly opens with floral notes, and black fruits (blackberries and blueberries). The palate is dense and elegant with hints of caramel and peonies. The tannins are melted and silky. We also find the mineral touch that characterizes Pierreux wines.

A slight sorting had to be done, on receipt of vintage to perfect the cuvée and sublimate its quality.
The grapes are destemmed to 100% and then vinified in concrete vats. We applied a slow fermentation between 22 and 28°C with 2 pumpings per day and a maceration of 12 to 15 days, with 2 to 4 loads at the end of maceration.
The oak barrels of 50hL lasted 12 months to develop the structure, smooth the tannins and allow micro oxygenation.
Bottling in May 2020.

Its concentration and its elegance will allow us to taste it young, but it is a wine that will be able to watch without problem (2 to 5 years see more).

The vineyard will have known successively: spring frost, drought and hail. The weather has reduced the quantity in half compared to the 2018 vintage. However, this vintage looks “promising”.
The rains in August helped feed the vines. Thus, the grapes have finished their ripening under favorable conditions, picked ripe, with a beautiful natural acidity. The health status was good, offering a good richness in sugars, balanced by a precious acidity. With this vintage, neither precocious nor extreme, the grapes offer great freshness. The aging potential will be interesting and the wines will be luminous.
The harvest at the Château began on September 7.
2019 is defined as an aromatic, fine and elegant vintage, dominated by floral and black fruit notes, slightly spicy with a balanced structure.