Château de Verreux will forever be connected to the origin of the Arbois appellation, purportedly the first AOC in France. In the decades after Joseph Girard, the founder of the estate and the driving force behind the appellation, passed away, the property fell into disrepair. The château had degraded into a grey, uninhabited ruin in the center of the village, and its vineyards had long ago returned to the wild. But in recent years, life and energy have returned to Verreux.
The team reawakening the dormant estate are winemaker Vincent Remillet, who honed his craft for more than a decade at Domaine du Pélican, along with partners Vincent Richard and Yann Greset, who share the goal of restoring a historic piece of Arbois to its former glory and crafting transparent, biodynamic wines from this historic terroir.
Verreux’s varietal pinot noir cuvée includes 20% whole cluster fruit, fermented spontaneously in stainless steel. With a naturally hazy red color in the glass and a pure, filigreed nose, it has a sophisticated structure with clear, precise alpine herbal flavors and firm, mountain tannins. After aging ten months in old 225L and 400L barrels, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with a minimal sulfur addition, only if deemed necessary.
Region
Alpine
Subregion
Jura
Appellation
Arbois
Plots
En Brut (0.8ha total)
Elevation
300m
Exposure
Southeast & east
Grapes
100% pinot noir
Vine Age
Planted in 1999
Soil
Silty clay topsoil over grey marl
Fermentation
80% of grapes are destemmed, 20% left as whole clusters, and fermented spontaneously with native yeast in stainless steel
Aging
10 months in 225L and 400L barrels
Farming
Practicing organic, practicing biodynamic (certification coming next vintage)
Fining & Filtration
None
Vegan
Yes
SO2 Total
52ppm
ABV
12.5%
Pack Size
6x750mL