Producer Chateau de Beru

FRANCE, CHABLIS

The Chateau de Beru is a 400 year old domain that is home to some of the best terroirs in Chablis. It is a magnificent estate, full of grandeur and history. For centuries the potential of the beautiful 17th century estate remained untapped until in the 1980s Count Eric de Beru, fueled by his passion for wine, replanted the vines including the only enclosed vineyard, Clos Beru! When he fell ill the vineyards were rented and the grapes sold to the cooperative until in 2004 his daughter Athenais took over and revolutionized the estate, finally realizing its great potential. After a visit to Argentina and a meeting with coffee farmers who use biodynamics to produce their beans, she returned home and despite some resistance she convinced her parents that the future of their wine was in biodynamic production. Athenais has been working the 15 hectares of vineyards with biodynamic methods since 2008 and since then the quality and purity of the wines has increased dramatically. It is blessed with the fabulous terroir of Chablis, limestone-clay soils from the Kimmeridgien era 300 meters above sea level. Only by using natural methods, including horses rather than tractors, can this sacred ground be protected and maintained. The wines are pure and alive and marry intensity with immense finesse. Athénaïs has also joined the 'Femmes et Vins de Bourgogne'.