Château de Beaupré

Château de Beaupré is a French bastide, vineyard and winery in Saint-Cannat, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

History

The bastide was built in 1739.[1][4][7] In 1854, it was purchased by the Double family, ennobled in 1378.[1][2][7] The estate served as a stopping-point for their horses on the way between their properties in the Luberon and in Marseilles.[1]

In 1890, Baron Emile Double (1869–1938) planted the first vineyards and built a vaulted cellar where he produced his wine in 100-hectolitre wooden vats.[1][3][4] Simultaneously, he started selling his wine to cafes in Marseilles.[1] His son, Henri Double (1903–2002) expanded the vineyard to 32 hectares.[3] In 1909, an earthquake destroyed the second floor, and the bastide had to be partly rebuilt.[8] In 1969, he planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon on the estate.[3]

Christian Double, his son, expanded the estate to 42 hectares and modernised the cellar, adding temperature control systems and rearing both red and white wine in barrels.[3] His wife, Marie Jeanne Double, opened the estate to the public for art exhibitions and wine tasting.[3] Their children, Maxime and Phanette, also work for the family business.[3] Maxime Double runs Wines Tree, a wine wholesaler, while Phanette Double is the current owner.[6]

The estate is located on the Route nationale 7.[1]

Vineyard

The vineyard of 42 hectares sits on the Trévaresse hills, whose soil is made of clay and limestone.[6][9] The oldest vines date back to the 1960s, and every year 1 hectare is replanted.[9] The vineyard includes red wine grapes exist in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache; Rosé in Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache; and White in Rolle, Grenache blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon.[6][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "History". Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  2. ^ a b "Wines Tree History". Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "A Family Affair". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  4. ^ a b c Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Tourisme et vignoble en France, Petit Futé, 2010, p. 662 [1]
  5. ^ Petit Futé Aix en provence, pays Aixois et Salonais, Petit Futé, 2010, p. 237
  6. ^ a b c d Les Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence
  7. ^ a b Cynthia Clayton Ochterbeck, Wine Regions of France, Michelin Travel & Lifestyle, 2010, p. 376
  8. ^ "Introduction". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  9. ^ a b c "The Vineyard". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2013-04-11.

43°36′32″N 5°21′12″E / 43.6088°N 5.3533°E / 43.6088; 5.3533