The Vineyard
Presentation
Château Brande Bergère is located North of Saint-Emilion on a hill with gravelly soil on clayish subsoil. It is one of the highest points of the Bordeaux region, overlooking the Dronne valley for over 25 miles. The vineyard of Brande Bergère has been cultivated since the 18th century, and in the 19th century, it was given the designation of origin “North Saint Emilion”.
The most modern cultivation methods are implemented in a fully manual way in the vine: mechanical weeding (no herbicides), severe and controlled pruning, Weediness, Desuckering, Suppressing , SlicingHarvest Green Harvest Manual, Reasoned agriculture.
Applied to this exceptional terroir, they help create powerful, yet elegant wines, with intense aromas and a generous bouquet. This richness allows for a long maturation in the cellar.
A charter of excellence has been established and its application is rigorously controlled. The winery, which has been completely restored, is at the cutting edge of modern techniques. The vinification vats are made of concrete, as in many of the most prestigious Bordeaux wineries, and are sufficiently numerous and small to allow parcel-based vinification.
Wines are kept in the cellar for 18 months, including twelve months in French oak barrels for the “Cuvée O’Byrne". One barrel in every three is replaced with a new one each year.
Our History
The origin of the estate dates back to the eighteenth century, when a noble family of Irish descent acquired land on the commune of Eglisottes to install one of his own, Richard O'Byrne, as a vicar of the Church of Saint Pierre de l'Etoile in the village and parish priest of the Church of Chamadelle in the neighbouring township.
The estate passed from hand to hand until 1854, when a lawyer from Libourne, Jules Mialaret, who married the heiress of Château Brande-Bergère, decided to devote himself fully to the property and to cultivate a vineyard there; The vineyard extends to nearly 50 hectares and wines renowned for their finesse and elegance are sold throughout Europe, particularly in England and Ireland.
At the same time, he transformed the original modest house by adding two towers connected by an Italian-style gallery into a real castle.
Alas! From the 1870s onwards, the phylloxera crisis hit the vineyard in full swing; Jules Mialaret, who had invested heavily, is ruined and is forced to leave the estate. He went back to his initial training and became a judge in Bordeaux.
It was not until after the Second World War that winemaking reappeared at Brande-Bergere; At first timidly with 1 hectare planted, then 5 hectares in the early 1990s.
Finally, the estate was bought in 1997 by Edith and Denis Dalibot, who brought the vineyard surface to 8 hectares.
In 1997, the buildings threatened to crumble; A vast renovation plan that would last for 10 years was implemented.
At the completion of the renovation works in 2006, Brande-Bergère has probably attained the acme of its glory.
