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#WinegrowerPortrait : Jean-Pierre & Audren DUBREUIL

Discover the Women and Men who work in the Saint-Emilion, Lussac Saint-Emilion and Puisseguin Saint-Emilion vineyards!
On January 30th, 2023, at the end of the Coupe des Crus de Saint-Emilion, 24 wines were designated “Coups de Cœur 2023” by a jury of professionals!
Château de la Grenière – Cuvée de la Chartreuse, a Lussac Saint-Emilion wine, was one of these winners. Jean-Pierre and Audren DUBREUIL, the owners and wingrowers of this vintage, tell us more about the property. Discover their history and their wine!
Les propriétaires du Château de la Grenière à Saint Emilion

What is your role on the property?

 

Jean-Pierre & Audren manage the DUBREUIL Vineyards as a duo. Their missions are multiple because the job of winemaker is not limited to the growing of the vineyard and the transformation of grapes into wine but also to the management of the employees, administration, sales etc… Today Jean-Pierre has taken the office reins (business, administration, management of schedules and the  purchase of dry materials). Audren has just joined the property after studying oenology and is mainly based on all the production management (vineyard and cellar), we can also find him in the commercial part as well as in the management of social networks.

For Jean-Pierre & Audren the most exciting moment is the vinification, but the moments spent on the maintenance of the vineyard are just as important to them.

YOU ARE ONE OF THE 24 "COUPS DE CŒUR 2023" OF THE SAINT-EMILION WINES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?

"We are very happy to be a part of the "Coup de Cœur" selection with this vintage. It rewards the work, the efforts made at the domain for many years. It also confirms our passion for wine and vineyards which is indescribable and which makes us smile every day. This distinction is also important for us because it highlights little known terroirs that produce very elegant wines. "

Can you tell us about your wine estate?

The Château de La Grenière, located in Lussac Saint-Emilion, north-east of Saint-Emilion, is from the 17th century. The DUBREUIL family bought the estate at auction in 1914. Before that date, they were already present on the estate as sharecroppers.

Today, Jean Pierre and Audren represent the 4th and 5th generation.

 

Can you tell us about the awarded vintage?

Château de La Grenière – Cuvée de La Chartreuse was created in 1986 by Jean-Pierre DUBREUIL. He gathered the best terroirs as well as the best land plots which are now more than 60 years old. These vines produce little, offering relatively concentrated grapes. Fermentations are done in raw concrete vats for 2 to 3 weeks then the wine is put in barrels for 40% new and 60% of one wine for 12 to 15 months.

Jean-Pierre et Audren Aubreuil du Château de la Grenière
Cuvée de la Chartreuse du Château de la Grenière

Blending

Merlot 75%, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 % Cabernet Franc.

 

Organoleptic description

Intense aromas of ripe black fruits, licorice, cloves, damp earth and smoke. A round and elegant mouth with firm and creamy tannins, juicy and delicate fruit.

 

Can you suggest a food and wine pairing with this vintage?

With the Château de La Grenière – Cuvée de la Chartreuse, we suggest :

  • A tournedos Rossini with Madeira sauce accompanied by a sweet potato purée and a pan-fried cep mushroom
  • A pigeon pastilla

What fun fact(s) can you share with us ?

 

Not one but several elements:

– In the 18th century, the wine produced at the property was supplied to the monks of the Notre-Dame de la Faise Abbey. –

– In 1868 the estate was recognized by the most prestigious crus of Lussac and Saint Emilion by the guide “Bordeaux and its wines” of the Edition Feret. –

– The property is located on the fresh sectors of the great Saint-Emilion, which gives it a long maturation of the grapes favoring the complexity of wines, a real asset in the face of climate change. –

– Château de La Grenière is one of the only estates in the Lussac Saint Emilion appellation to have gravelly soil, which allows it to stand out from other estates because of its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. –

– The domain has a park magnified by trees of more than 400 years. –

– The Château produces 6 red wines which are each a reflection of the parcels and terroirs of the property. –

– Numerous cuvées are produced and a new one “Franc pour cent”, a 100% Cabernet Franc has just been released for the 2021 vintage. This one comes from a specific parcel and a complete vinification in oak barrels. The label is young and dynamic, we have tried to represent the range of colors found in the wine when it is in motion in tank or in barrel. –

To conclude

 

The work of the winegrower is to retranscribe the terroir in his wines, to this day the Château de La Grenière transmits it. We are happy and proud of this distinction and we wish to thank the Saint Emilion Wine Council as well as all the tasters present at the event.

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