History of Bioul Castle

The construction of the Château de Bioul began in the 10th century.

From the 11th century to the present day, the Château de Bioul estate has witnessed several wars and passed through many hands. Dilapidated under the occupation of the Jauche family, it was burned in 1554 by the troops of King Henry II of France.

The Brandenburg family, the new owners, transformed it from a historic feudal castle into a prestigious residential mansion.

Several centuries later, François Vaxelaire, founder of the "au bon marché" department stores, began by renting the Château de Bioul in 1896. He acquired it in 1906 and carried out major renovation work.

Vanessa Vaxelaire, the granddaughter of the family, and her husband Andy had always dreamed of taking over a vineyard as a second career. In 2007, they took over the management of the château and realized their dream on the family land. They left Brussels to settle in the family château in 2009 and a few months later began planting their first vines.

Today, they own 11 hectares of vines in different plots within the commune. The vineyard is located on the best slopes of Bioul. The soils are clay-limestone and are traversed by a layer of Carboniferous schist.

Soil composition, water flow and exposure are all elements that contribute to the notion of terroir of Bioul.

Each plot is worked, not systematically, but according to its needs. Controlled grassing, hedges, low yields, a vegetable garden in the middle of the vineyards, perches for birds of prey are a range of approaches that the owners have put into practice to develop biodiversity.

These guarantee a grape rich in aromas, without pesticide residues and with a unique and exceptional typicity!

Winemaking process for this Mossiat vintage

• The estate and its wines are organic. The official appellation will be affixed to the wines from the 2019 vintage onwards.
• The cellar master and the owners work for the vine, the vine does not work for them.
• They have implemented numerous natural measures to eradicate pests and have planted grape varieties that are highly resistant to disease.
• The harvest is done by hand and the aging takes place in stainless steel tanks for some (sparkling wine, red wine and Batte de la Reine) and in concrete egg tanks for the other wines.

Characteristics of this organic and dry Belgian white wine

• Appellation area:  AOP Côtes de Sambre et Meuse
• Terroir:  Clay-limestone soils crossed by a layer of Carboniferous schist