Château de Béru

Athénaïs Béru is doing pretty well for someone who never saw their future as a vigneron. The historic vineyards of Chateau de Béru, in the small village of Béru, were destroyed by Phylloxera and were only replanted by Athénaïs' father in the 1980's for the purpose of renting them out. The family who rented to vines were in a conventional way, and they sold the grapes to the local cooperative. Athénaïs was living in Paris as an insurance broker until 2004 when her father passed away, and she decided to move back to Béru to reclaim the vineyard, which included the painstaking task of converting it to organic, and then biodynamic. Her first vintage was 2005 and in the years that have followed she has become one of the most revered and influential winemakers in Chablis. Today, Athénaïs has converted the land to biodynamic agriculture, including the négociant arm of the family business, 'Athénaïs'. Her own land is 15 hectares on the the classic soils of Chablis, kimmeridgian clay and stones.