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Château de Pierreux Brouilly 2010
Producer
Château de Pierreux is a 80 hectare estate situated in the heart of Brouilly.
It is one of the finest domaines in the Beaujolais region, with a magnificent château and winery built during the Renaissance. It has been managed by Jean-Claude Boisset since the 2002 vintage; the wines are made by Lydie Nesme. The vineyards are planted on highly absorbent sandy soil, consisting of pink granite sprinkled with blue volcanic rocks. The 40-45 year old vines are ‘gobelet’, or ‘bush’, trained at a density of around 10,000 vines per hectare.
Vineyards
A `lutte raisonnée`, or environmentally friendly, approach is taken in the vineyard. Fruit for this wine is cultivated using methods based on organic and biodynamic principle and the old bushvines are harvested by hand. The vineyards stretch across 77 hectares of granite-based soil composed of a mixture of sand, porphyry, schist and silica. The vines have an average age of 40-45 years old, are planted at a density of 10,000 vines/ha and were pruned using the Gobelet method.
Vintage Information
The winter in the Beaujolais was cold and dry. The spring started off warm and dry, but finished with a very cold month of May, as a result Flowering was delayed, and veraison began in the first week of August. The first day of harvesting was 16 September and conditions were fairly cool meaning aromatic grapes with good levels of acidity.
Vinification
A Burgundian approach in the cellar combined with the high quality of the grapes, ensures the wine’s distinctive and serious style. No yeasts or enzymes were added, to avoid altering the character of the must. The grapes were 100% de-stemmed and the whole berries cold soaked for three days (this is very different from the whole bunch, carbonic maceration that the majority of Beaujolais undergoes). Once fermentation started, the grapes were crushed gently by foot, twice a day initially and then once a day until the end of fermentation. The wine was aged in large wooden vats for about six months prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes
Brilliant colour with deep purple nuances. Fine, elegant nose with floral notes of iris, violet and peony. Soft and round on the palate with lovely length revealing floral and dark berry flavours of blueberry and blackcurrant.
| Vintage |
2010 |
| Grape varieties |
100% Gamay |
| Region |
Brouilly, Beaujolais |
| Winemaker |
Lydie Nesme |
| Closure |
Cork |
| Alcohol (ABV) |
12.5% |
