Château de Beaupré is a French bastide, vineyard and winery in Saint-Cannat, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The bastide was built in 1739.[1] [4] [7] In 1854, it was purchased by the Double family, ennobled in 1378.[1] [2] [7] The estate served as a stopping-point for their horses on the way between their properties in the Luberon and in Marseilles.[1]
In 1890, Baron Emile Double (1869–1938) planted the first vineyards and built a vaulted cellar where he produced his wine in 100-hectolitre wooden vats.[1] [3] [4] Simultaneously, he started selling his wine to cafes in Marseilles.[1] His son, Henri Double (1903–2002) expanded the vineyard to 32 hectares.[3] In 1909, an earthquake destroyed the second floor, and the bastide had to be partly rebuilt.[8] In 1969, he planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon on the estate.[3]
Christian Double, his son, expanded the estate to 42 hectares and modernised the cellar, adding temperature control systems and rearing both red and white wine in barrels.[3] His wife, Marie Jeanne Double, opened the estate to the public for art exhibitions and wine tasting.[3] Their children, Maxime and Phanette, also work for the family business.[3] Maxime Double runs Wines Tree, a wine wholesaler, while Phanette Double is the current owner.[6]
The estate is located on the Route nationale 7.[1]
The vineyard of 42 hectares sits on the Trévaresse hills, whose soil is made of clay and limestone.[6] [9] The oldest vines date back to the 1960s, and every year 1 hectare is replanted.[9] The vineyard includes red wine grapes exist in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache; Rosé in Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache; and White in Rolle, Grenache blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon.[6] [9]