Chateau Beauchene Cote's du Rhone Reserve Rouge

Chateau Beauchene

THE VERGNIAUD-BERNARD FAMILY

Michel Bernard's family has been present in Orange since the 17th century. "Mesnagers", meaning farmers until the 1789 Revolution, bought the first vines during the National Goods Sale in 1794. They are still part of the family vineyard. Michel Bernard and his wife Dominique Vergniaud have been responsible for viticulture since 1971, which they have gradually expanded. In 2004, their eldest daughter Amandine joined them. Today, the chateau is the seat of winemaking and maturation of the various family vineyards. It includes 70 hectares of vineyards, divided between the appellations:

- Châteauneuf du Pape

- Cotes du Rhone Village

- Cotes du Rhone

The entire harvest is bottled at the chateau. In close and permanent contact with the Wine University and the Inter Rhône Research Laboratory, Michel Bernard personally takes care of the cultivation and viticulture work. Dominique Vergniaud oversees administration, sales in France and in the cellar, and Amandine Bernard manages export sales and marketing from her London office and takes care of personal care for clients in Europe.

His principles in the vineyards are simple: the vineyards are plowed, no herbicides are used, treatments are kept to a minimum and pruning is severe to keep yields low. Vinification takes place in open wooden barrels, all grapes are completely de-stemmed (à la Jayer), and fermentation is not triggered by adding cultured yeast, so it may take a few days to start (a "natural" cold pre-maceration ) using own. New barrels are added every year for aging, but their share remains very low to produce wines where fruit predominates. It is important to emphasize that there is no recipe here. Winemaking follows a general theme, but techniques can be changed from year to year to suit the vintage's circumstances.

. https://chateaubeauchene.fr/