Chateau La Chapelle

In 1925, Château La Chapelle was purchased by Georges Larribière. The estate, located in Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, southeast of Saint Emilion on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary, consisted of cattle, vines, and meadows. Over the years, his descendants upheld Georges’ legacy.

In 1997, a fourth generation of the family, in the person of Béatrice, took over the winemaking operation. She is well-qualified after several years of viticulture training followed by experience in the vineyards of Australia and California.

Béatrice learned about working with the vines and respecting the environment at an early age and in 2012, she obtained an organic agriculture certification. Combining her technical mastery and her instincts, she nurtures vines that are up to 100 years old.

The vineyard, on the border with the Castillon appellation, produces its wines in the Saint Emilion AOC. The Château is unique in that it is a single plot of 15 hectares of vines on clay-silt soil at the foot of the hillside. In order to maintain perfect hydration of the vines, the estate benefits from the presence of a water table in the subsoil, which allows the vines to flourish fully whatever the season.

Juice from the freshly harvested merlot grapes is extracted using vertical presses, one of which dates back to Beatrice’s grandfather. Gentle pressing does not crush the pips which would produce astringency. Fermentations take place in concrete vats whose porous properties allow micro-oxygenation. The maturation is also done in vats, revealing all the desirable aspects of the Saint-Emilion terroir.
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