France · Mâconnais

Château de Pierreux

Château de Pierreux is a 110-hectare estate focused on red Brouilly made from 100% Gamay, with mature plots, mixed shallow soils and a gradual conversion to trellised vines since 2009.

The producer

Two towers survive at Château de Pierreux, a 13th-century fortified manor that now anchors a 110-hectare estate devoted to red wines from 100% Gamay. Brouilly names the appellation on the label, while strawberry and raspberry fruit, ruby colour, dark purple undertones, a round palate and mellow tannins describe the wine's usual shape.

Since 2009, estate manager Alain Dugoujard has overseen a gradual conversion to trellised vines, reaching 47 hectares. Vineyard decisions follow lutte raisonnée, with attention to disease risk, beneficial insects and vine health. The 2016 Brouilly adds crushed red and black cherries, violet, a concentrated palate and crisp acidity that brightens the finish, with medium body suited to roast chicken.

Known for

Brouilly made from 100% Gamay, marked by strawberry and raspberry fruit, a round and smooth palate, mellow tannins, ruby colour and dark purple undertones.

Notable facts

The story

The Two Towers of Pierreux

Château de Pierreux began as a fortified manor in the 13th century, when its two towers had very different jobs. One was used as a pigeon coop, turning part of the stone building toward the daily work of the estate. The other was a defensive post, complete with arrow slits. The two towers remained standing as the property changed around them. The residence visible today dates from the 19th century, so the same outline carries a practical farm building, a guarded medieval position and a later home. The château's vineyards now cover approximately 110 hectares, and its red wines are made from 100% Gamay.

From the atlas

Château de Pierreux

At A Glance

Château de Pierreux is a Bourgogne estate centred on Brouilly, a red appellation made here from 100% Gamay. Its 110 hectares combine shallow, well-drained pink granite, schistous and siliceous soils with blue porphyry deposits linked to Mont Brouilly's volcanic past. The wines carry Gamay's red-fruited side into a round, smooth palate with mellow tannins.

The Producer

Two medieval towers still mark Château de Pierreux, a property that began as a fortified manor in the 13th century. Today the estate is a large Gamay operation, with approximately 110 hectares of vines and a range focused on red Brouilly. The old walls give the address its visible history; the wine programme is built around one grape and one named appellation.

That focus keeps the label relationship clear. Brouilly names the place and appellation, while Gamay names the grape in the bottle. The style is red, medium-bodied and fruit-led, with strawberry and raspberry in the general profile, ruby colour and dark purple undertones. The estate's scale gives those wines a broad vineyard base, while mature plots and changing vine training add the agricultural detail behind them.

Place

Brouilly is expressed through shallow, well-drained ground containing pink granitic, schistous and siliceous materials, alongside blue porphyry deposits associated with volcanic eruptions of Mont Brouilly. On the label, Brouilly therefore carries more than a regional name. It places the wine within a Gamay appellation whose typical profile leans toward small red fruits, a rounded palate and a smooth finish.

The grape and the appellation work together in the glass. Gamay supplies strawberry, raspberry and cherry-like fruit, while the Brouilly profile keeps the palate supple through mellow tannins and a rounded middle. The wine stays recognisably red-fruited without becoming heavy.

Soil And Site

Pierreux covers approximately 110 hectares, and 42 percent of its plots are more than 40 years old. Those figures describe a varied estate with a substantial mature-vine component, not a single small parcel. The shallow soils drain readily, while the mixture of granite, schist, siliceous material and blue porphyry gives the vineyard a distinctly varied physical base.

The documented wine consequence is clearest in the general Brouilly profile: ruby red colour with dark purple undertones, strawberry and raspberry aromas, a round and smooth palate, and mellow tannins. The site facts belong beside those tasting details because they describe the vineyard from which the estate's focused Gamay range is assembled.

Story

Pierreux has moved through several forms without losing its physical centre. It began as a fortified manor in the 13th century, and the residence visible today dates from the 19th century. The estate now works on a much larger vineyard scale, with approximately 110 hectares surrounding a red wine programme based entirely on Gamay.

The more recent change has taken place among the vines. Since 2009, estate manager Alain Dugoujard has overseen a gradual conversion to trellised vines, reaching 47 hectares in the supplied account. The vineyard therefore contains both inherited material, including plots more than 40 years old, and a continuing change in how vines are trained and worked.

Vineyards And Cellar

Pierreux uses lutte raisonnée, with growing decisions made vineyard by vineyard after considering disease risk, beneficial insects and vine health. This approach connects the treatment of each plot to its actual condition. It also suits an estate with mixed soils and a wide spread of vineyard parcels, where one uniform response would ignore local differences.

The trellised-vine conversion gives that farming story a visible action. Alain Dugoujard began the work in 2009, and 47 hectares had been converted in the documented account. In the cellar, the supported picture remains focused and direct: the red wines are made from 100% Gamay, with the vineyard choices carrying through to fruit, tannin and freshness in the finished Brouilly.

Wines

The range is deliberately narrow in the supplied material. Château de Pierreux makes red wines from 100% Gamay, with Brouilly as the named wine focus. There are no supported details for additional cuvées, parcel bottlings, village wines or other grape varieties, so the range is best understood through the estate's Gamay Brouilly rather than through a long hierarchy of labels.

The general Brouilly profile is easy to picture. The wine is ruby red with dark purple undertones, and small red fruit aromas are led by strawberry and raspberry. In the mouth it is fruity, round and smooth, with mellow tannins that keep the palate approachable. The range's character comes through fruit, colour, rounded texture and soft tannin, not through added cellar claims.

In The Glass

The wine begins with a ruby appearance shaded by dark purple. Strawberry and raspberry rise first, followed by the broader red-fruit character associated with Gamay from Brouilly. The palate is round and smooth, so the fruit spreads across the mouth without a hard edge. Mellow tannins keep the finish gentle, while the wine's medium body leaves it suited to food without requiring a heavy dish.

The 2016 vintage adds another register. Crushed red and black cherries bring darker fruit to the nose, with a hint of violet above them. On the palate, concentration gives the wine more weight than the general fruit profile alone suggests, while crisp acidity carries brightness through the finish. Its medium body and fresh close place it naturally beside roast chicken.

A Bottle To Understand It

Château de Pierreux Brouilly 2016 is the first bottle to reach for because it has the most complete documented picture of the estate's wine. It is 100% Gamay from the Brouilly focus, with crushed red and black cherries and violet in the nose, a concentrated palate, crisp acidity and a bright finish. The wine remains medium-bodied, so its cherry fruit and freshness can sit comfortably beside roast chicken. This bottle brings the appellation, grape and estate style into one vintage-specific example.

Anecdote

Château de Pierreux began as a fortified manor in the 13th century, and two towers from that period still stand. They had different jobs. One was used as a pigeon coop, while the other served as a defensive post fitted with arrow slits. The first belonged to the practical life of the estate, supplying birds; the second belonged to the protection of the property. Centuries later, the residence visible today dates from the 19th century, leaving the château with three distinct layers in its surviving outline: medieval defence, working farm life and a later domestic building.

Final Word

Château de Pierreux brings together a 110-hectare Gamay estate, shallow mixed soils, mature vineyard plots and a gradual conversion to trellised vines. Brouilly is the constant label language, while strawberry, raspberry, cherry, mellow tannins and fresh acidity describe how that place arrives in the glass.

Sources

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