Château Haut Peyrous
The renaissance of a family owned Graves vineyard
Château Haut Peyrous is a vineyard of 12 hectares of AOC Graves, that is close to Langon and more specifically in the town of Mazères. It is currently owned by Celine and Fabian Goulard.
Native of Soissons in Picardy this couple didn’t come to the Region of Bordeaux for work in the wine industry but for the climate and their old jobs. Indeed before being a winemaker somewhere else and in parallel ownership Fabian Goulard manages a company specialized in trading industrial solutions (pipes) and Celine Goulard in consulting entrepreneurship. During the first years of their lives in the area they discovered the world of wine and especially the wines of Graves. Within 2 or 3 years the wine´s and viticulture´s virus contaminated them…. Today they mastefully manage a property that makes itself talk more about her.
Focus on Celine and Fabian Goulard, owner of Chateau Haut Peyrous
“Like many people outside Aquitaine we did not know the area before coming. Which is a shame because this is one of the oldest areas in Bordeaux. The name has a big communication problem … It is better known internationally than in France, however there is a great potential for this appellation.
I like the profile of our wines. The important thing in this business is to see how far we can go for nice products / great wines. We we’re in the process of finding out. For us having seen the potential in this term, we saw the opportunity to do great things. We try to get out of the ropes / homogeneous wines. This is starting to bear fruit, for example in the last Futures we got good reviews/ranks.
We came to this property thanks to our other activities. We had to get out of our first house where we attended our old business. My wife and I grew up in the countryside. We did not want to be working in a business block. So we started looking for another activity, and naturaly we thought to buy a vineyard. On the advice of some people and following our intuition that the Graves wine appellation was promising we were looking for a vineyard and finally found the Château Haut Peyrous. Another important criteria weighetd in the decision, that related to our children which was living as close to the countryside and to the city as well Finally in September 2012, after a year and a half of reflection and three visits we finally acquired it. What is funny is that my wife and I are more prone to reds but we bought Château Haut Peyrous after a tasting of white wines. They had something different that we really liked.
When we bought the property there were three vintages in stock but we have kept one, the 2011, but the goal is to compare it qualitatively with the vintage 2012. This vintage was also our first property.
Today have followed a step forward from the vine to the vinification by the consultant oenologist Hubert de Boüard and his team.
This is someone who lives with us and the project has a high sensitivity, it is very important at the vine because as he said ‘before being passionate about the wine must be for the vine ‘(Hubert Boüard). We must lead the vineyard throughout the year while having the vision of wine. The opposite would be comparable to an orchestra where everyone plays his part without regard to the other and the final rendering. “(Fabian Goulard)
Where does the name of Château Haut Peyrous comes from?
Initially the property was called the Chateau La Tuileries Peyrous. “Peyrous” means “locality” and “La Tuileries” is explained by the fact that at the bottom of the timber from the property there was an old tile. When the property was purchased by Fabien Goulard, he changed its name to “Château Haut Peyrous.”
What allows us to recognize the wines of Château Haut Peyrous tasting?
“As for white wines, the wines of Château Haut Peyrous have much freshness, minerality and expresses notes of exotic fruits. They also have a mild citrus acidity which is slightly present. They are also recognized thanks to their bright side that one can find on the Semillon.
For the red we are on the process of creating ourselves. We must make it known. We do not have a beautiful building so it’s our wines that are to our reputation. Since 2013 it is followed by Hubert de Boüard. With his help we make a range of wine that is fruity. The common thread among all our wines is the fruit. We do not want to present wines that are too wooded, but make the fruit the dominating factor. We want a red wine with notes of red fruits and other notes of black fruits.
Aging is like a bride, wine is the groom and the barrel is the dress. Everything must be a dream. One without the other will not dream. If the vine was a nice juice we will then have a nice area. The barrel brings the dress, the structure, tannins and participates in color. Under no circumstances should feel the wood before the fruit from the vine.
I try to make wine fun, communion, marriage … and no wine technicities. Wines that provide joy. The consumer is behind his glass and he did not analyze for 2 hours. He drinks and said if he likes it or not. “(Fabian Goulard)
Side anecdote:
The labels of the property were designed to remember two things. The first is a drop of wine in the wine, the dissemination of this drop in the liquid. The second can make you think of the smoke out of the bottle when placed horizontally.
Side project:
“We have the tools, now we need to make it pleasant. The project is to make a new vat. We are in the process of restructuring the vineyard. Currently we have about 20% to restructure. The big issue now is whether the production of white at the expense of red wine or not is increased. I also have the idea and the desire to plant Malbec on a one hectare plot.
We are also in train to plan of making a big batch of white and red limited edition. It would still be wines for pleasure but the difference with the great wines will be the vineyard. We would like to test by leading it differently. “(Fabian Goulard)
Thanks to Fabian Goulard for the warm hospitality.
Jonathan Choukroun Chicheportiche
