When the tenant farming her family's Chablis vines decided to retire, Athénaïs de Béru left a finance career in Paris within days and went home. The result is one of Chablis's most distinctive and uncompromising biodynamic estates.
Backstory
Château de Béru has belonged to the Béru family for more than 400 years, set on the slopes near the Chablis Grand Cru foothills. In the early 2000s Athénaïs returned to the village of her childhood and gradually took over the roughly 15-hectare estate.
The Region
The domaine lies in Chablis, in the far north of Burgundy, where Chardonnay is shaped by cool climate and Kimmeridgian limestone. At its centre is the Clos Béru, a five-hectare monopole enclosed by a historic wall dating to the thirteenth century.
Vineyards and Farming
Athénaïs converted the whole estate first to organics and then biodynamics. Since 2010 every plot has been organic and fully certified biodynamic, with preparations applied according to the cosmic calendar. Working biodynamically with small yields is still uncommon in Chablis, making her a genuine innovator.
Winemaking
All the grapes are handpicked and fermented with indigenous yeasts, then bottled without fining or filtration. The approach seeks ripeness and terroir expression rather than the leaner template many associate with the region.
The Wines
She produces mainly five cuvées of Chablis, including the Premier Cru Vaucoupin, the village Terroirs de Béru and the standout Clos Béru monopole. They are vibrant, textural and unmistakably hers.
