Château des Rontets - Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Varambon 2019

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Château des Rontets Description

Home is where the vines are, as it turned out, for Claire Gazeau. After pursuing a life outside of wine, working in architecture in Milan and meeting her now husband doing so, the vines of Gazeau’s family vineyard in Pouilly-Fuissés eventually called her home. Thirty years later, Chateau des Rontets is producing its best wines yet. The estate was founded in the 1700s, taken over by Claire’s great-great-grandfather, François Varambon in the mid 1800s. The estate holds many treasured family memories, and upon moving there in 1995 Claire and her husband Fabio saw it as a wonderful place to raise a family of their own.

It’s safe to say the 7.5 hectares of vines were not thriving when Claire and Fabio took the reins of the estate. From day one, the pair set upon farming organically to repair the health and biodiversity of the vines, and in 2005 attained their Ecocert organic certification.

Organic farming, according to Claire and Fabio, is the best way for their vines to express the vocation of their place. Ploughing and the avoidance of chemical weeding allows the root system to absorb the mineral elements of the soil, exploring the unique layers of limestone and granite that come with straddling the Burgundy/Beaujolais divide.

Above all, abolishing all synthetic chemical products allows Chateau des Rontets to respect the environment and the natural expressions of the living ecosystem, but also to preserve the health of their family, workers, neighbours and that of those who drink their wines. The main estate is situated on the top of the hill which closes the valley of Fuissé towards the south. Sitting at an altitude of 350 metres above sea level, the daily temperature range here is key to gradual ripening and the preservation of good acidity even in the warmest and earliest vintages. This is where the grapes producing the Pouilly-Fuissé cuvées Clos Varambon and Les Birbettes are grown.