Union de Producteurs de St Emilion

Saint emilion

Saint-Emilion, a medieval village listed as a UNESCO heritage site, has for centuries been famed throughout the world for its wines produced largely from the Merlot grape that thrives in its cool clay-rich soils. Winemaking in the area originated with the Romans and with a small detour in the 2nd and 3rd centuries (Emperor Domitian’s edict on ripping out the vines to protect Italian viticulture, later repealed by Emperor Probus), winemaking has continued nonstop since then.

A striking feature of the Saint-Émilion vineyards is their mosaic of separate plots, which results from the economic rules and organisation of property at the end of the Middle Ages. The four appellations of Lussac Saint-Émilion, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion, Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru represent almost 970 registered winegrowers. In this light, the poetic description of the area as “the hill of a thousand estates” is particularly meaningful.

Saint Emilion has a diversity of soils, mostly Tertiary and Quaternary alluvial deposits including a mix of sands, gravels and clays. Merlot which likes cool feet is particularly well adapted to the more clay-rich soils.

la jurade

La Jurade , the wine brotherhood of Saint-Emilion was established in 1199 by John Lackland, King of England. At the time, English domination extended as far as Aquitaine. However, the jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion had its own rules, closely linked to the cultivation of vines, King John (“Jean Sans Terre”) then decided to delegate the economic, political and judicial powers, as well as the control of the quality of the wines, to a set of nobles in order to govern the administrative life of the city. Abolished after 600 years during the French Revolution, the Jurade was reconstituted in 1948 by the region’s winegrowers, not as an administration of the territory, but as a body for promoting the wines of Saint-Emilion . These winegrowers, called jurats , became ambassadors throughout the world, with the aim of promoting the quality and authenticity of products from their terroir .

The union de producteurs

In the 1930’s, Robert Villepigue, owner of Chateau Cadet Piolat brought together 6 winegrowers who became the founders of the Saint-Emilion cooperative cellar. Its original purpose was to unify a few properties in order to pool the means of production, vinification and sale of wines. In 1966, the winery was recognized as a Producers Group, an association of independent producers, each vinifying and bottling at the Chateaux, covering the 8 communes of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) “Saint-Emilion” : Saint-Emilion, Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, Saint-Hippolyte , Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, Saint-Pey-d’Armens, Vignonet and Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. Today, the Union of Producers represents a little more than 12% of all Saint-Emilion AOCs. Their drive for quality is shown by their recent IO 14001 certification and by becoming the first producers association to implement the Environmental Management System in Bordeaux.

the Wines

Chateau Cazenave (Saint Emilion Grand Cru)

Cazenave is located south of Saint-Emilion, in the town of Vignonet. The name is an occitan cognage of the Catalan and Italian Casanova, (French, Chateauneuf), and is the ancient name for the property where the estate is located.

Composed of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc from vines averaging 40 years. Grown in gravelly siliceous soils, the wine is elegant and balanced with great ageing potential.

Chateau Benitey (Saint Emilion Grand Cru)

Château Bénitey is located at the foot of the plateau, to the east of Saint-Emilion, in the town of Saint-Laurent des Combes.
It gets its name from a cross at the fork in the road above the vineyard, a cross reminiscent of a benetiere - a stoup- a basin or font containing holy water.

Composed of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, Benitey is a touch soft and approachable wine with a lush finish. 40-year old vines in clay-rich marl soils, vinification in stainless steel followed by ageing in French oak (30% new). 2,000 cases produced annually.