Julie Mercier from Château La Grande Clotte
Every year, the Coupe des Crus de Saint-Emilion honours 24 winners.
These men and women work day after day to produce wines that live up to the quality and environmental commitment of Saint-Emilion wines.
Find out more about these properties in Lussac Saint-Emilion, Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, Saint-Emilion and Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, as well as the Grands Crus Classés.
Today, the spotlight is on Château La Grande Clotte, with a portrait of its winemaker and owner, Julie Mercier.
2024 Favourites – Château La Grande Clotte
Château la Grande Clotte
In 2016, Julie and Mathieu Mercier bought Château La Grande Clotte, a wine estate located in Lussac Saint-Emilion. After travelling to the four corners of the globe to learn different winemaking techniques, they decided to have their own Château so they could create wines the way they wanted and experiment to their heart’s content.
They have also carried out extensive work to welcome visitors directly to the property, in their guest rooms, and have also developed a wide range of wine tourism activities to discover the Saint-Emilion vineyards and their different cuvées.
Read what Julie has to say about her participation in the Coupe des Crus, the history of the estate and its winning wine.
What is your role at Château La Grande Clotte?
My husband Mathieu and I both own and make wine at Château La Grande Clotte. We bought this 9-hectare property in a single block, in Lussac Saint-Emilion, in 2016.
Can you tell us about the property?
Mathieu and I wanted to create a place to live. That’s why we opened guest rooms at the property 2 years ago (we’re opening others in 2024). We’ve also renovated a whole section of the building to create a function room for seminars, weddings and, above all, the sunset evenings we’re launching this summer!
3 words to describe the winning wine?
A very fruity, tasty wine, with aromas of wild strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant. It is also long on the palate, but with silky, very supple tannins, making it a wine that goes well with all kinds of dishes. This is a wine with great drinkability, which can be drunk young but will keep well over time.
What makes Château La Grande Clotte so special?
The fact that Mathieu and I only bought the property together gives us a huge amount of freedom. We can have fun trying out lots of things, in the vineyard, in the cellar, with plant cover, making wines in amphorae or natural wines, working with biodynamic methods, changing our labels every year… There’s so much to do and there’s never a dull moment!
What’s unique about your property?
We’ve developed a new workshop called the Bicy’Clotte Tour, where people set off on electric bikes from Château La Grande Clotte with a picnic basket and a booklet. Along the way, they’ll stop at local craftsmen who will fill their picnic baskets in exchange for a ticket. They’ll pick up charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, etc. At the end, they’ll go to a small park in Saint-Emilion to taste their picnic baskets, which will of course include a bottle of Château La Grande Clotte!
When do you recommend tasting your wine?
With Mathieu, we really wanted to create wines with excellent drinkability right from the start. So we make very fruity wines, but some of our cuvées have great ageing potential. If you decant them an hour or two before drinking, they’re drinkable right away, and you’ll be able to appreciate all the fruitiness and youthfulness of the wines in their first few years.
What dish would you recommend drinking your wine with?
My speciality, which I obviously recommend, is a pulled pork buns ! It’s a dish we brought back from one of our trips to Canada and it goes very well with a Château La Grande Clotte. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!
How does it feel to be one of the 24 favourites?
We’re really pleased to be one of the winner of the Coupe des Crus in Lussac Saint-Emilion. It shows that we’re making the right decisions and taking the right directions with Mathieu in terms of the technical itinerary for the vines and vinification, to make wines that are fruity and accessible right from the start, with good drinkability. We’re happy to be making delicious, enjoyable wines that were appreciated by the jury.
A final word?
We’re waiting for you at La Grande Clotte to show you our world, our way of working, the love we have for this estate and all the activities we’ve created for you to share a moment with us and understand our daily life as winegrowers!
Find out more about Château La Grande Clotte
At the Maison du Vin de Saint-Emilion or directly at the property !