Château de Pizay

This beautiful old property dates back to the year 1030 when Gosmard de 'Pizeys' built two towers and a wall around the estate. His descendants lived in the Château until 1916. The famous Côte du Py rises up on the western side of the chateau. There is an old Roman road close to the Château which was the main route for goods heading north and the configuration of the Château and its buildings is very much in the style of a Roman villa.

Once a very large estate, this property has changed hands several times over the past few decades and now consists of 82 ha of vineyards as well as the Château. All of the vineyards of the estate are farmed organically and vinifications are made in a classic way with ferments taking place in cement tanks. For the Crus such as their Morgon, roughly 25% ages in a variety of oak from barriques to larger foudres. These are wines of purity and generosity evident from very old vines. These are remarkably good values at each level.

2021 Beaujolais
Produced from gnarled old goblet pruned vines averaging 40 years old grown on decomposed sandy granite and made from low yields of 50 hl/ha. Winemaking is traditional with no destemming and ageing in vats with cooling after pressing to retain the perfume and freshness of pure Gamay. Jancis Robinson sums this wine up beautifully, ‘Chateau de Pizay Beaujolais is ridiculously cheap for the amount of pleasure it gives. This crimson draught of summer is fresh and direct and with real Beaujolais character plus both refreshment and body. This is the sort of wine that is hugely versatile in terms of serving temperature. You can enjoy it at room temperature or you can stick it in the fridge and take it, heavily chilled, on a picnic.’