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Say goodbye to Château de Santenay and hello to Château Philippe le Hardi…
A new style of wine, a new coat of arms, new labels, conversion to organic farming… The change in the Domaine’s name reflects the start of a new chapter in its history.

Managed by the Crédit Agricole since 1997, the château, crowned with its glazed tiles, has 98 hectares of vines, spanning north to south over 60 kilometres, with 35 climats, 17 appellations and 55 wines produced on the three Côtes (Nuits, Beaune, Chalonnaise). Rechristened a few months ago because its name risked causing confusion, it now pays tribute to one of its illustrious owners, Philippe le Hardi (Philip the Bold), Duke of Burgundy in the 14th century. The son of King Jean II (John the Good), Philippe was known as “the Bold” because of his courage during the Hundred Years’ War. We owe him the famous ordinance of 1395 banning the use of “disloyal Gamay” in Burgundy’s red wines in favour of Pinot Noir. A superb team A story that deserves to be put in the spotlight. Sleeping Beauty awakened by a superb team! “We carried out extensive historical research in the departmental archives to find out if it was legitimate to use the name of Philippe le Hardi,” explains Jean-Philippe Archambaud, the Domaine’s director. “Especially since the two brands, Château de Santenay and Château Philippe le Hardi, had coexisted for fifty years.” Something that caused this devotee of varietal wines to raise his brows when he arrived in early 2019. Nor did this situation suit Anne Le Naour, executive director of the Crédit Agricole Grands Crus wine estates (Châteaux Grand Puy Ducasse, Meyney, Clos Saint-Vincent). Furthermore, the château was named after an appellation, but currently owns very few plots of Santenay. This created another inconsistency on labels, for example with the mention of both “Clos de Vougeot” and “Château de Santenay”. Consumers could easily become confused, no longer sure which wine they were drinking… All in all, there were many reasons to make the change. The movement accelerated in March 2019 with the acquisition of 8 hectares in the Côtes de Nuits (a second plot of Clos de Vougeot, Chambolle Musigny Premier Cru, and Gevrey Chambertin Premier Cru).

View the article publish in Figaro on April 15th, 2022

A unique terroir and a diversity of climats spread over the three Côtes!

With 98 hectares spread over 35 prestigious climats, the Domaine du Château Philippe le Hardi is one of the largest estates in Burgundy. It has a rare combination of climats on all three “Côtes” (slopes): the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune and the Côte Chalonnaise. Through its vines and its origins, the Domaine tells the story of this mosaic of landscapes that makes Burgundy’s vineyards so special.

Discover the map of our climats in pictures!

See the map here.

In 1395, a ducal ordinance changed the history of Burgundy wines.
The story of Pinot Noir and Gamay explained…

In 1372, Philippe le Hardi took direct possession of the seigneury of Santenay and therefore of the Château at the time. There is no doubt that both the Duke and the court already appreciated the wines that were produced there. To such an extent that, out of concern for quality, Philippe le Hardi took a radical measure. Through a famous ordinance in 1395, he banned “disloyal Gamay”, suspected of lowering the quality of Burgundy’s wines, and thus potentially lowering the prestige of his duchy. Pinot Noir has reigned supreme since then. This historic act was essentially the beginning of varietal Burgundy, the starting point of this unique symbiosis between a wine and the land that produces it. In other words: the invention of terroir and high-quality wines thanks to the political will of one man.

Philippe Le Hardi’s work was continued by his son Jean Sans Peur (John the Fearless), and then his grandson, Philippe Le Bon (Philip the Good), who was responsible for the construction of the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune in 1443, and finally Charles Le Téméraire (Charles the Bold). The vast territory of the Duchy of Burgundy joined the kingdom of France after 1477 and the end of the Dukes of Burgundy. The château was then owned by high-ranking nobles for three centuries until the Revolution, when it escaped destruction. In 1796, it was recorded that the château possessed two wine presses, providing irrefutable proof that there was wine-making activity within the building from at least this date. The decades that followed are not well documented. The drawbridge was replaced by a huge wrought iron gate and a two-storey building was added to the west side of the tower. The Château passed through the hands of several families through inheritances and marriages. While the vineyard remained operational, other uses were made of the buildings, such as military barracks during the First World War and a medical practice at the end of the 1930s. From the mid-1950s onwards, the vineyard and wine production became more closely and permanently linked to the Château. The Pidault family undertook numerous renovations to the buildings between 1965 and 1976, and extensive planting in Mercurey. The Château was gradually restored to its former glory. Ownership continued to pass from family to family until the end of the 20th century. Each contributed in their own way, for example through the purchase of a superb plot of Clos de Vougeot in 1989 and plantings in Saint-Aubin in the early 1990s.

View the article here.