Château des Annereaux Strives for Excellence

In 2017, Dominique, owner of Château des Annereaux, handed the reins over to his son Benjamin. That same year, the family estate celebrated its 10th anniversary of organic farming.

Château des Annereaux invites wine professionals

On Thursday, March 30, 2017, Château d’Annereaux in the Lalande-de-Pomerol appellation in Bordeaux opened its doors to wine professionals. 2017 is a special year for Dominique and Benjamin Hessel, who were keen to mark the occasion:

• After 40 years on the job, Dominique is passing the torch to his son Benjamin,
• The Château is celebrating 10 years of organic farming,
• A new, modern winery is being inaugurated,
• The perfect opportunity to discover the 2016 vintages: the en primeur campaign is about to begin

Benjamin Hessel: The New Generation Arrives at Château des Annereaux

It’s a wonderful family story that began in the 14th century. For 600 years, the Château des Annereaux has been passed down from generation to generation. This year, after 40 years of dedicated work in keeping with family tradition, Dominique is handing the estate over to Benjamin: experience is giving way to youth: “I’m 35 this year. I always planned to work on the estate, but I wanted to see what else was out there. So I went to Paris for a while to work, and I decided to return to the estate four years ago,” Benjamin tells us. “When I returned, I trained for two years while working at the Château. It was mainly my father, an agricultural engineer and oenologist, who taught me this trade,” he emphasizes.

The Château des Annereaux is a historic family estate: it belonged to Benjamin’s grandmother (the little girl next to the car) and his great-great-grandfather (the man next to her).

2017 marks a new beginning for Château des Annereaux. It’s a beginning full of ambition: “My ultimate goal is to become the flagship of the Lalande-de-Pomerol appellation,” Benjamin says.

Dominique and Benjamin have managed to give themselves the means to achieve this goal. It all started with their very courageous decision 10 years ago to switch to organic farming.

Our Estate's Favorite Cuvées:

Lalande de Pomerol Organic 2014

Lalande de Pomerol Organic 2015

Lalande de Pomerol Organic 2011

2007–2017: 10 Years of Organic Farming at Château des Annereaux

In 2007, Dominique began converting the estate to organic farming. For the past 10 years, the estate’s wines have been produced using clean and responsible viticulture. Benjamin is very proud of this choice: “I really want to pay tribute to my father. It was a courageous decision and a very important turning point for the estate. He stayed true to his convictions despite the risks, and I am proud to be able to continue his work.”

At Domaine des Annereaux, vineyard management is carefully planned. For the past 10 years, the vineyard has been certified organic.

“We do this first and foremost for those who work in the vineyards. They’re on the front lines and take it all on their shoulders. For them, and of course for the soil.”

Organic farming also allows them to craft wines with a fruitier profile, as Benjamin explains: “Since switching to organic farming, we’ve regained some acidity in the wines. When tasting them, the fruit comes through much more clearly, and the wines are crisper.”

The switch to organic farming has been nothing but a success, so it’s only natural that Dominique and Benjamin want to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a grand vertical tasting (the same vintage across multiple years) of the past decade.

A modern winery to improve the quality of the wines

Château des Annereaux produces three wines: Château des Annereaux (Lalande-de-Pomerol appellation), Château des Biscarrats (Lalande-de-Pomerol appellation), and Bordeaux (Bordeaux appellation). Benjamin explains: “We don’t want wines that are too oaky. We want to focus on the fruit. The Lalande-de-Pomerol wines are 80% Merlot. They are elegant, silky, and full of finesse. We try not to rush our wines so that they truly reflect the grape varieties.”

The new winery at Château des Annereaux will enable them to improve the quality of their wines

The new winery was designed with the aim of improving the quality of production. The project took two years to complete: “We renovated the fermentation room and added a bottling facility. We invested in a new sorting machine, a vibrating conveyor, and the buildings themselves to ensure that the wine is stored under optimal conditions.”

These investments will enable winemakers to work with wines on a smaller scale and improve the selection process. “We’ve added small containers so we can vinify by vineyard block. The sorting machine will allow us to select the grapes much more carefully, keeping only the highest-quality ones. We’re going to refine the selection process,” says the young winemaker.

Every effort is being made to achieve the goal of becoming the benchmark for the Lalande-de-Pomerol appellation. The icing on the cake is the arrival at the estate of a very promising young winemaker: Axel Marchal. For Benjamin, this choice is very important: “I trained under Denis Dubourdieu. So it was only natural that we decided to work with Axel Marchal starting in 2016—a young winemaker who will contribute immensely to the quality of our wines.”

Without a doubt, with such a combination of talent and determination, Benjamin Hessel is well on his way to great success.