The Château Le Châtelet in Aquitaine presents you our wines.
Château Le Châtelet
Heritage
Château Le Châtelet’s vineyard is located on the summit of the famous west Saint-Emilion’s plateau, at about 300 meters from the "Collégiale" and 200 meters from the Saint-Emilion’s old church "Saint Martin de Mazerat".
This place was highlighted by Emperor Probus’ legionnaires (276-282) which grew vines by digging through stone some straight furrows filled with clay.
A specimen of the romans’ work has been found when the west part of the vineyard was under rehabilitation.
This precious discovery has established the vineyard as a special place, endowing it with inalienable right of precedence and superiority.
Château Le Châtelet’s vineyard is exploited since five generations by the Berjal family.
In 1867, the jury of the Paris exhibition awarded it by the golden medal.
At the present time, Alain and Julien Berjal maintain the qualitative tradition established by their forefathers.
Top pageGeographical situation
The Saint-Emilion historical town is located at 35 km north-east of Bordeaux.
The Saint-Emilion‘s terroir stretches on 27 km2.
The city of Saint-Emilion counts more than 3000 inhabitants.
But every year, one million tourists pace up and down the old medieval town to discover the world-renowned “Châteaux” and vineyards Since 1999, for the first time ever, a vineyard landscape was acknowledged as a “cultural landscape”, listed as a World Heritage Site By UNESCO.
Château Le Châtelet’s vineyard is situated at 200 meters from the "Saint Martin de Mazerat" church, in the depths of the medieval town.
The vineyard benefits from an ideal location, settled between world-famous "Châteaux" such as Clos Fourtet, Beauséjour Bécot, Grand Pontet…
Top pageThe vineyard
Château Le Châtelet’s vineyard is located on one of the best terroir of Saint-Emilion’s plateau. The nuances of its soil can be attributed to a rich geology (limestone, clay-limestone, gravel, and sandy soils) and a microclimate ideally suited to winegrowing.
On the hill dominating the” Dordogne” valley, Château Le Châtelet’s vineyard gets a lot of sunlight and enjoy the good influences of the oceanic temperate climate.
With a 3,3 hectare surface, the wine which arises from the vineyard is rare and seduces as well an international, faithful and demanding clientele as oenologists and specialists.
The 15 000 bottles produced per year are mainly ordered before bottling.
The Château Le Châtelet grape variety is made of 79% from “Merlot” grape and 21% from “Cabernet franc” grape, the ideal blending to produce a great Saint-Emilion “Grand Cru”.
Alain and Julien Berjal invite you to discover the vineyard :
Everyday from april to october
From 11 AM to 9 PM
Free tasting (7 vintages)
Discovery of the vineyard by night by appointment only
Your contact :
Patrick
Phone number : (+ 33) 6 83 11 92 49
A traditionnal know-how
Every produced year is created from an alchemy between a traditional know-how and the modern techniques of production, in the respect of the Saint-Emilion’s « savoir-faire ». A lot of progress have been made in oenology and mechanization, but no farmer has forgotten the teachings of the previous generations.
Following an old tradition, the bottling takes place in the vineyard. The Château Le Châtelet production is self-mimited to 15 000 bottles to improve the right balance of the concentration of the different grapes and other components. Of its whole constituents.
The grape-harvesting is exclusively hand-made, followed by a drastic picking out (which explain the low production) before keeping the wine in thermo-controlled wine wat.
During the whole year, our cellars enjoy a 11,5° Celsius temperature (41° Fahrenheit) and a 95% hygrometry, insuring ideals conditions:
For the barrel-keeping, exclusively in french oak tree barrel, during a period between 12 and 22 months before bottling
For the ageing in bottles of our different vintages.
Alain and Julien Berjal, respect a good management of the vineyard, of the wine-making process melting modern techniques and traditions of their forefathers.
Top pageThe Château Le Châtelet
Discover the new vintage of the Château Le Châtelet…
Simply named "Le Châtelet", an invitation to hedonistic pleasure.
The vintage has been designed to extract the very essence of our exceptional terroir.
We have selected 3 representative plots of our vineyard :
A plot made of « Merlot » grapes on clay ground
A plot made of « Merlot » grapes on limestone ground
A plot of « Cabernet franc » grapes on limestone ground
These three different plots are farmed from the pruning of the grapes in winter. We reduce the numbers of buds to three on each part of the grape. On the same way, we remove the leaves from the vine very early on both side. We keep maximum six bunches of grape per vine.
The production is self-limited to 30 hl/ha maximum.
The grape-harvesting is exclusively hand-made and it is taken very fastly to the cellar to avoid oxydation. Once in the cellar, every bunch of vine is selected seed by seed, by 8 persons.
The great oenological innovation of the vintage is the wine-making process.
The selected grapes are directly dispatched to wine-making french oak barrels changed every year contrary to other vintages where the grapes are dispatched to wine vat. The barrels have a capacity of 225 to 400 litters.
The barrels are mounted on wheel-equiped supports for the grapes to rotate every day, for the maceration of the grapes.
With this particular process, the integrity of the fruit is respected. This process doesn’t contain mechanical actions, the grapes are not manipulated. The aromatic potential of the grapes is totally kept.
During the five weeks wine-making stage, the grapes in barrels are hand-rotated every 8 hours (3 times a day).
Once the alcoholic fermentation over, we proceed to the flowing of the grapes (the drops juice) to smaller barrels. Every small barrel is completed with its own squeezed juice.
The malolactic fermentation takes place in these small barrels. Every week, the barrels rotate for the lees to be suspended and for the wine to become more complex and fruity. The aroma in the mouth is much more intensified, so the pleasure.
When the malolactic fermentation is finished, the wine is racked to remove the biggest lees and to get an ageing on thin lees. The rotation of the barrels is continuing until April.
The ageing lasts on a 20 months period before bottling. During this period, the grapes are slightly filtered (20 microns).
The first vintage which benefits from this process is the 2007 vintage, voluntarily self-limited to 100 boxes.
This vintage is considered as a real success by professionals and wine-lovers while the tastings we organised.
All this work and these innovations have not been made in vain.
We are highly persuaded of this optimal wine-making process and today we are very motivated by the results obtained and congratulations.
The annual production for the next vintages are voluntarily self-limited to 200 boxes.
A great new wine is born !
Top pageChâteau La Tour de Ségur
Heritage
In the XIIIth century, Sire “de Ségur” gave his country house to the Father of Faise to expiate a murder while he was hunting in the “Faise” forest. Since that day, The “De Ségur” manor became the Faise abbey.
It was admitted that the wines produced by the abbey were well-known. In 1382, the Bordeaux archbishop bought two barrels of Lussac wine to the Father of Faise, for the king of England.
In the XVIIIth century, Montesquieu, the french Philosopher, used to stay in the abbey, to visit his brother, the Father of Faise. For the author of “Persian Letters”, the abbey became a special place, source of inspiration and relaxation.
At the present time, the Faise abbey is known as "Château La Tour de Ségur" vineyard. The Berjal family owns the property and the vineyard since three generations, preserving constantly his historical heritage and working to the good operation of the vineyard.
Top pageGeographical situation
«Château La Tour de Ségur» vineyard is located on the medieval town of Lussac, at 35 km north-east of Bordeaux and 9 km of Saint-Emilion.
Top pageThe vineyard
Château la Tour de Ségur vineyard is located on the summit of the Lussac hillside.
It has a privileged microclimate and the right amount of sunlight that allows the wine to get an optimal maturity.
The clay-limestone soil produces perfectly well-structured wines that are particularly made for ageing.
13,5 hectares out of the 17 hectares property are covered with grapes.
The grape variety is made of 70% from “Merlot” grape, 20% from “Cabernet sauvignon” grape and 10% from “Cabernet franc” grape.
The average age of the vineyard is 25 years (50 years maximum) and it is regularly re-planted.
The oceanic climate linked to the Plateau’s microclimate fits particularly to the growing of wine and production of great quality grapes.
The profile of the annual temperatures necessary to a good growing cycle and ageing is optimised.
Top pageA traditionnal know-how
The respect of wine authenticity is connected to the traditions established since five generations.
Alain and Julien Berjal, farmers of the Château La Tour de Ségur in Lussac and of Château Le Châtelet in Saint-Emilion adapt to new production techniques without forgetting the know-how of their forefathers.
The « Joseph Berjal » vintage, limited to 4800 bottles per year, is the object of a very special care.
The traditional wine-making takes three weeks to extract all the richness and concentration of the must.
Its temperature is controlled between 28° and 32° Celsius (82,4° and 89,6° Fahrenheit).
Then the wine will age during 16 to 18 months, before bottling being proceed.
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