Beaujolais is not only a region and a certain way of life. It is above all a wine, a real character with its own particular features : - coming from a single variety of plant, - combining the most traditional methods of cultivation, - possessing a wealth of different fruity flavours, - a subtle wine with floral fragrances, - always welcome, from the garden-party through to the most formal dinner, - wonderfully suited to all kinds of food. It is without doubt the Frenchest of all wines.

BEAUJOLAIS

Geographical situation
The Beaujolais vineyards in production cover 21,000 ha and lie on sloping hillsides. Their average altitude is 300 m. The region is situated to the south of Burgundy and 50 km north of LYON.

Appellations
The ten Beaujolais crus are the flower of the region : Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, CHENAS, Chiroubles, Julienas, Fleurie, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, Saint-Amour. They each cover between 240 and 1,200 ha. One great name follows another, conjuring up multifaceted, generous, robust wines, with enough variety for wines to be drunk : - quite young (Chiroubles, Saint-Amour Régnié) - mature (Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie) - aged (CHENAS, Morgon, Julienas, Moulin à Vent) The Beaujolais-Villages wines, from the center of the region around the 10 crus, cover around 6,500 ha and are Beaujolais Nouveaux. The generics Beaujolais wines from the south, covering 9,599 ha, should be drunk young as primeurs.


THE CHENAS CRU

The CHENAS cru is one of the greatest of all Beaujolais wines. It is produced at the very heart of the most famous Beaujolais A/C areas : Moulin à Vent, Juliénas, fleurie and Saint Amour. The world CHENAS itself indicates that its vineyards replaced the original forest of oaks (Chênes) (Capitulary of Charlemargne, 9th century), hencethe origin of the name "CHENAS". Louis XIII in the 17th century would allow nothing but this delicate, palatable wine to grace the royal table. On of the most highly-appreciated crus in the area , it is also one of the most discreet. The wine has that ideal tang of Beaujolais soil, thanks to its positon, its soil and the magic of this wine. The vineyard lies on maily granite soil and possesses all the caractteristics needed to produce a rare and exceptional wine. The CHENAS appellation covers 215 ha with an average production of 11000hl. It runs from CHENAS (Rhône) to the best hillsides of LA CHAPELLE-DE-GUINCHAY (Saône et Loire).

The soil is poor, light and acid, the result of eruptive rock decomposition ; The wine is a black white-juiced Gamay. This colour gives exclusively red wine. The features of CHENAS recall those of full-bodies wines, coloured (dark ruby), fruity ones with a spicy, peony taste, wines suitable for ageing. CHENAS wines are highly suitable for meat, fish, game in a "grand veneur" sauce and cheese. They should be served at a temperature of between 12° and 15° C according to age. The humblest Beaujolais A/C wine is now sought after. A source of pleasure and well-being, the wine will reveal qualities comparable to those of the greatest wines after maturing and slight ageing. All the sublime gifts of nature will be there for the tasting

CHÉNAS CRU AND "CHATEAU des BOCCARDS"

FIRST A LITTLE STORY...

The CHATEAU des BOCCARDS owes its name to the small hamlet built on the highest point of the main hillside vineyard in LA CHAPELLE DE GUINCHAY. The hamlet was named after a certain BOCCARD family, which in 1440 counted several of its members Hugonin, Barthelemy and Pierre - amongst the landowning electors of Geoffroy de GERMOLLES, Knight and Lord of BANANS In 1659, Maître Philippe BOCCARD, a notary in LA CHAPELLE, made his will " in a small room within his buildings known as des BOCCARDS ". He appointed his two sons Joseph and Philippe BOCCARD as his heirs. In 1845, the BOCCARD estate, consisting of twelve vine-growers under lease, belonged to Louis TRICHARD, a wine merchant, whose son sold it in 1851 to Hubert ORTA of Lyons. After passing on to his sons, the estate was sold by auction en 1891 to a certain Mr. DUBOST. From early, in the 20th century until 1977, the CHATEAU DES BOCCARDS was in turn the property of the MERCIER then the LACHAT families. At present, the CHATEAU DES BOCCARDS, now the property of James PELLOUX, lies among the A/C vineyards of the CHÉNAS cru, one of the 10 Beaujolais appellations.

AND NOW ON TO WINE ...

The CHATEAU des BOCCARDS vineyard is planted solely with black white-juiced Gamay, the only plan authorized in the Beaujolais region. Cultivation methods are traditional, ruling out the use of grape harvesting machines. Vinification is by the classical " BEAUJOLAIS " method. The bunches of grapes are tipped intact into the vats in order to retain as much aroma as possible and avoid losing the fruity taste. Fermentation lasts from 6 to 12 days according to the year and the age of the vine. After the wine is pressed ; drawn wine giving delicacy and fruit is blended with pressed wine, with its body and tannin. This is indispensable if balance and good ageing are to be ensured. CHÉNAS appellation wine, born of those granite soils, is remarkable for its qualites of lingering fragrance, fruitiness and improvement with age. Over the years, this wine will come to possess the generous charm of a Beaujolais and the fullness of a Burgundy. The CHATEAU des BOCCARDS wine-cellar holds at the disposal of all-connoisseurs a cuvée selected especially for tasting ; tasting is of course accompanied by traditional Beaujolais food. Wine from the CHATEAU des BOCCARDS vineyard is produced and bottled directly on the estate, thus guaranteeing it to be an authentic local produce, direct from producer to consumer. TRADITION AND QUALITY, TWO GUARANTEES TO PERPETUATE THE FINE REPUTATION OF OUR CHENAS CRU.

BIO-BURGUNDY

Discovering Bio-Burgundy The Chénas of the CHÂTEAU des BOCCARDS.

We would like to present to you our Chénas Château Des Boccards, a wine that has been exclusively produced and bottled according to organic cultivation methods of Burgundy. The basic principle of biological cultivation is to look for an overall quality by taking advantage of the different stages of the 88dh's natural processes. This allows for the preservation of the stability and the richness of the soil as well as producing balanced vineyards in a natural environment. We adhere rigorously to the biological production regulations, ratified by the approved wine organizations, ratified by the French government and the European Community. They strictly prohibit the use of any chemical fertilizers, synthetic products, weed killers, or pesticides. In addition, a special authority, approved by the French Minister of Agriculture, checks, guarantees and certifies that our Chénas has been biologically produced. With the Chénas of the Château Des Boccards, you will rediscover the traditional taste of authenticity as well as the intensive and distinguishing aromas of a great wine.

Jean-Paul Auxeméry is a French poet (author of Parafe, Flammarion, 1994) who likes to be described as a nomad. His manner of travelling has brought him intellectually to literatures of different interiors. Thus, he has found himself, for example, turning towards the followers of fraternal wine, a Omar Khayam, the mathematician of taverns of the desert, or Li Po, the Chinese intoxicated by the melancholy. He has also transited American poets. Charles Reznikoff, the pedestrian on the edges of Manhattan Ezra Pound, who louses himself often, Hilda Doolittle, author of Helene in Egypt, and especially Maximus of Charles Olson, poet Of the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Auxeméry lives at the edges of the Atlantic, on the river-bank facing the sub when it sets.

THE SOMMELIERS RECOMMENDATIONS

The Chénas wine is the most corpulent and encompassing of the 10 crus of the Beaujolais. It combines well with traditional red meat dishes as well as with poultry, such as a coq au vin and is an excellent companion for all sorts of cheeses. After receiving your case of wine, it is important to l eave the bottles to rest in your cellar or in a cool place for about 15 days. The cellar should be somber, whithout odors and air drafts, yet lightly ventilated at a constant temperature between 13 and 15 degree Celsuis. Before opening a bottle, avoid shaking it and exposing it to a high temperature. Uncorck the bottle a few minutes before serving it. The Chénas wine is best tasted and drunk at a temperature between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius.

If you note a light sediment at the bottom of the bottle, serve the wine very delicately into the glasses. The sediment is a guarantee of a natural evolution. Chénas wine is as a colour of dark ruby, with coloured hints of rose and peony as well as sharp tannins in its first youth. However, it matures to perfection for tasting in five years and even longer for certain vintage years. The powerful structure of the Chénas creates a very fine elegance which reminds one of the aromas of the Burgundy. This marriage of aerial finesse and aroma has acquired over time a reputation of dellcacy and conviviality. It is a connoisseur's wine, a wine for festive occasions.