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: 10,000 vines/ha
Age of the vines: 83 years
Yields: between 18 and 25 hL, depending on the vintage.
Pruning: goblet

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.

100% Gamay

Color: deep garnet.
Nose: very intense, it reveals subtle and varied perfumes. The ripe fruit blends wonderfully with notes of peony and liquorice that complicate this aromatic panel.
Palate: Sweet and warm, powerful and sweet. A palette of fruits (Burlat cherry, blackberry) invades our senses and finishes on chocolate notes.

The drought forced us to harvest early, but the harvest was of quality. The very low yield (20hl / ha) allowed us to obtain a good concentration of sugar and polyphenols. The harvest is destemmed 100%. We applied a slow fermentation between 22 and 25°C and a long maceration of 25 days accompanied by 2 pumpings per day, then one in the morning at the end of maceration, followed by 3 to 4 loads before pressing. A slow and soft extraction was carried out to calm the power of the vintage and the soil. The juices were thundered. This cuvée will age on fine lees, in the vaulted cellars of the castle, for 13 months.

Prefer to wait 5 years to fully appreciate it.
Ageing potential 15 to 20 years

A hot and concentrated vintage. The first trimester was quite normal, with a late bud breaking. After a hot April and a warm and dry month of May, the flowering came late in May. Very high temperatures of June make the flowering time shorter than usual. The bunch closure comes really quickly too. We reached the veraison time by middle of July. By this step, we were already 8 days ahead from an average vintage on the 22 past years! The drought made very small berries with very low yield. The harvest started on August 25th under hot and shiny sun.