Pierre-Marie Chermette Brouilly Pierreux

The vineyards of the Beaujolais region are very hilly. They are delimited on one side by the foothills of France’s Massif Central mountain range and overlook the Saône River’s floodplain between Mâcon and Lyon. Nestled at the foot of Mont Brouilly, Château de Pierreux is one of the most beautiful residences in the Beaujolais region.

Martine Chermette’s grandmother was born and grew up among the vines at Pierreux, just outside the small hamlet of Odenas. As Martine puts it, “For sentimental reasons [we] couldn’t resist buying this little plot of vines at the foot of Mont Brouilly.” Chermette tends just 1.5 hectares of vines here, with 60-year-old roots delving deep into the eroded granite and bluestone that has been washed down from the mountain over millennia. The name Pierreux comes from the word pierres (‘stones’), illustrating the makeup of the soil.