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.