When he was a little boy, Pierrick Lavau already followed his father in the vineyard. Seven generations before him took care of the vineyard which is divided between Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens and Libourne. As he started to study maths, physics and chemistry, he did not like the idea to stay locked up in a laboratory. The call of the land was too strong. He then chose enology. Sharing his time between his job of consultant and the work with his parents in the chateaus, he definitively takes over the properties in 2003.
Château Bernateau is located at the east of Saint-Emilion on an 8-hectare vineyard, made of clay and limestone soils and limestone plateaus. The grape varieties are divided between Merlot (70 %) and Cabernet Franc (30%), with a quite small part of Petit Verdot. “Petit Verdot provides a spicy note. The calcareous plot of land on a terrace where I planted it will give something interesting here, while in the Médoc for example, it is not adapted to the clayey soils.” Château Tour Peyronneau has 12 hectares in Saint-Emilion Grand Cru with a soil of clay and gravels. At last the owner's wines are complemented with the brand Tertre du Lisse.
Fascinated by the land and the vineyard, eager to respect the environment, he converts all his vineyard into organic management and is certified in 2012. For the owner, it is not a commercial argument however. “What we look for above all in our wines is the expression of the clay and limestone soil”, explains Pierrick Lavau. Organic farming is a conviction, a discipline which he imposes to his vineyards for the good of the plant, the soil and the generations to come.
Testimony of the excellent made work, wines of the Lavau vineyards are regularly rewarded in the Concours Général de Paris, in the IWSC, in the Concours de Bordeaux... “Our wines have a spicy, fruity nose, with notes of red berries, rhubarb, liquorice and violet notes. On the palate, there is a good acidity, an attractive tension in the first taste. Then the wine shows its powerfulness, fills the palate, to finish with a hint of saltiness and minerality which brings this fine grain of tannin typical of Saint-Emilion”, Pierrick Lavau comments. “Our objective is to give some pleasure to the consumers, that they appreciate the wine and the soils which we try to thrill. For that purpose, we do a 'haute-couture' work in our vines, the extraction and the elevage of our wines.”
For him, his wines should be kept before tasting. He regrets that the market asks for ready-to-drink wines. “My wines ask just a little time to open, from 3 to 5 years according to the vintage. You can enjoy them for at least fifteen years.”
In 2014, his wife Karine joined him on the estate and took in charge the development of the wine tourism. The chateau welcomes the visitors all year long, and Karine organises open days. They also renovated a tasting room where they can welcome people for dinners.
Thoughtful hostess, Karine welcomed Paolo Basso in all simplicity in April. Pierrick wished to present his recent vintages and to collect the impressions of the Best Sommelier of the World: Château Bernateau 2012-11-10-09, Tour Peyronneau 2012-10 and the cuvée Pierrick Lavau de Tour Peyronneau 2010.
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Balsamic nose, peppery, with peony, wood berries, quite fine and well-integrated woodiness. Delicate and fine, linear, pleasant and light, with supple tannins, with a delicate finish. An easy-to-drink wine that will immediately seduce thanks to its flexibility. Ageing: 2017-2025
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Beautiful woody note with a spicy character, cinnamon, aromatic herbs. Voluminous and with a beautiful richness at first taste, increasing evolution to a beautifully structured mid-palate, quite tasty with firm and solid tannins which bring a male and austere character on the finish. Beautiful persistency with a medium intensity still based on the spicy woodiness. Delicacy and finesse of the expression. Ageing: 2015-2023
— Château Bernateau – 00 33 5 57 40 18 19 —
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