Château Saint-Pierre is an elegant building going back to the 15th century and extended in the late 19th century. The estate is located at the entrance to the village of Saint-Julien. Documents show that winegrowing goes back as far as 1693, when Saint-Pierre belonged to Marquis de Cheverry. Baron de Saint-Pierre acquired the château in 1767, during the reign of Louis the 15th, and named it after himself. Château Saint-Pierre was divided in two parts and inherited by his two daughters following his death in 1832. This resulted in a split during which each half was managed independently. Both parts appear at the top of the fourth growths in the 1855 classification.
The two hyphenated Saint-Pierres (Bontemps and Sevaistre) had several owners in the ensuing years, however the vineyard was finally reunited in 1922 by an Antwerp négociant firm, although the cellars remained the property of a cooper named Alfred Martin. His son, Henri, purchased the château in 1981 and the surrounding vineyards a year later, thereby restoring the estate's identity, unity, and almost exact original boundaries. After Henri’s death in 1991, his daughter Francoise and her husband, Jean-Louis Triaud, continue to run the domaine with the same passion and devotion.
Typical of the Saint-Julien appellation, Saint-Pierre's terroir consists of fine Günz gravel and siliceous gravel. The subsoil contains "crass de fer" (hardpan), marl, and gravel. The topography features gravely rises extending into a plateau. The 17 hectares of vines are in a single block. The drainage is excellent thanks to a water system influenced by the nearby Gironde. Each of the 300 vineyard plots is managed separately. The Guyot double pruning method is used. Leaf thinning is practiced on one or both sides, depending on the vintage, and green harvesting as necessary. The château is increasing using sustainable viticulture techniques. Ninety percent of the plots are plowed and chemical weedkillers are gradually being phased out.
The grapes are hand-picked in several waves for optimum ripeness and then carefully sorted, after which they are destemmed, crushed, pneumatically pressed, and put in vats for alcoholic fermentation (26-31°C) and maceration (24-28°C).
Technical Director Remi di Constanzo favors gentle extraction, and adapting pumping over to each vat. Cultured yeasts are always used and, when necessary, a system for concentrating the wine by evaporating it in a vacuum. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat for the most part, and occasionally in barrels. The wine is placed in 65% new oak barrels in December and the final blend is made in February. Aging lasts 12 months, during which the wine is racked four times and fined. The domaine uses barrels with a medium-toast from seven coopers in France and the US. Château Saint-Pierre has a well-structured, powerful personality thanks to its deep gravel terroir. The hard work in the vineyard and cellars in recent years has paid off, and Saint-Pierre is presently a full-bodied, rich, and elegant wine with fine texture and good fruit.
