The vineyards are redrawn

Each year, the vines are regenerated with new plantings over two or three hectares.

After two years of waiting to give the soil time to rest, we carried out our annual replanting in the spring. Two plots were replanted: 2.5 hectares at the Hameau de Creignes and 0.5 hectares of the plot of Garanches, the most southerly of the chateau’s vines and amongst the oldest.

This replanting is part of the vineyard restructuring program begun in 2009. The new Gamay vines are planted in single rows and trellised fairly high at 1.6m rather than the more traditional 1m, to improve aeration, keep the harvest healthy, and aid with ripening. The rows were planted 2m apart with 80cm between each vine to facilitate work. This spacing allows us to pass between the rows on a small tractor for plowing and weeding the young vines instead of using weedkillers. In addition, the competition between the roots and the grass is a natural brake on yields.

As Jean de la Fontaine wrote, “Patience and time are better than force or rage”, and we’d do well to remember this since the first harvest of these two plots won’t be until 2023, on their fourth “leaf” or year.

The vineyard covers some 106 hectares, 97 of which are in the Brouilly appellation, and has over 100  plots rooted in granitic soils with a mix of sand, porphyry, schist, and silica. The terroir of the Château de Pierreux is planted with Gamay, which is fresh and elegant, resulting in easy-drinking wines.

The four wines produced by the chateau:

Brouilly Réserve du Château, the Ambassador

Brouilly Terres de Pierreux, the most elegant, and a limited edition

Brouilly Grande Réserve Château de Pierreux, tenderly aged in oak

Beaujolais-Villages, the white