Château Pierrail
A property in Bordeaux AOP synonymous with passion, heritage and romance
Château Pierrail is a family property located in Bordeaux Supérieur AOC, specifically on clay-limestone soil with hillside facing south-east of the town of Margueron.
The Château was built in 1680 by the Segur family on the ruins of a medieval building. Built with white stones from the region, with its mansard roofs, it has two square towers, an open courtyard bordered on one side by a long building and on the other side by an arch gate.
Around the Château there is a French garden, a park with cedars, topiary driveways, a former Gothic chapel porch, and below, a lake and meadows providing a small bucolic side to this property.
Over the centuries the Château Pierrail would successively belong to the Roche family and then, in 1782 to the Barons de Brianson and finally being bought in 1970 by Jacques Demonchaux. The property extends over 250 hectares in a single patch including 75 hectares of vineyards, complemented by an extensive orchard of walnut trees, a lake, a large park and forest.
When Jacques Demonchaux, joined by Alice, took over, the property was in a state of decay. Aware of the potential of the terroir, Alice and Jacques embarked on a large vineyard replanting, rehabilitation and renovation of the field with modern production tools. Their son, Aurélien joined them after a few years to complete this process. The restoration projects have been successful since Château Pierrail is regularly nominated by various tasters, magazines and competitions.
Today Alice Demonchaux is in charge of marketing and Aurélien is in charge of the vineyard and winemaking.
Château Pierrail produces a range of five wines: Château Pierrail (red, white and rosé), Château Pierrail Cuvée Naudon (red) and Château Pierrail Cuvée Prestige (white).
Where does the name of Château Pierrail come from?
Simply from the stony terroir of the estate. Indeed “Pierrail” is a distortion of “stony ground”.
Their motto?
“Making good wines according to each terroir of the property. We practice organic farming methods to protect our vineyards.” (Jacques Demonchaux)
“For Wine to be good and to be enjoyed it must be part an entity. It should be part of a lifestyle with respect for the environment, the ecosystem.
The property includes a small valley with a river running between two hills. The finest vineyards in the highest parts, are devoted to vine growing while our walnut grove occupies the lower slopes down the hills. The location of the vineyard is the result of a selection to give from the beginning, the best quality assets. Moreover, having another agricultural activity, in difficult years helps to stay selective in the choice of wines and helps to afford certain sacrifices to ensure quality over quantity. This would be more difficult if viticulture would be the only activity. Not only that, gastronomy, wine and nuts often complement each other in more than one way.” (Alice Demonchaux)
What is the signature wine of Château Pierrail ? What allows you to recognize your wine in tastings?
“It is true that while respecting the terroir, there is a” Pierrail key “. We recognize our wines often due to the nose by their dark chocolate notes. The stony terroir of Pierrail adds a certain minerality to our wines both red and white.
We work the vineyard in order to achieve a beautiful maturity giving rise to ripe and silky tannins while maintaining a nice freshness.” (Aurélien Demonchaux)
From a personal perspective, I would say that freshness, the fact that the fruit dominates, small chocolate notes and always nicely integrated oak are indicators that help in the identification of red wines of Château Pierrail.
The white wines are fresh, harmonious, well balanced and always offer a fairly typical acidity of this property. The balance acidity / smoothness/ fruits is also characteristic.
Do you have plans for the Château Pierrail?
“We just opened a new large tasting room. Now we can accommodate up to fifty professionals or individual customers. We wish to have increased visits.
We are also currently building an extension of the winery with new tanks to further respect the diversity of terroirs for better wine making depending on different plots of the vineyard.
We also wish to care more and more for the environment because the vineyard is part of a living environment. Similarly, we do not neglect parks and gardens that must be part of a harmonious entity.“(Alice Demonchaux)
Anecdote:
For the anecdote, in April 1832 at her attempted takeover of royal power, the Duchess of Berry, left Naples on the way to Vendee, disguised as a man, was received at Château Pierrail by Marie Marguerite of Brianson. She was later arrested and taken to the prison of the citadel of Blaye.
Thanks to Alice and Aurélien Demonchaux for their warm welcome.
Choukroun Chicheportiche Jonathan
Château Pierrail
33220 Margueron, France
+33 (0)5 57 41 21 75
Photos ©ChâteauPierrail
