Chateau MontPlaisir is Benoit Chaignon’s project to become a winemaker. He has launched his project 6 years ago, supported by his family and a team of experts who advise and help him in his venture.
The first step was to carefully select terroir with potential, and he found it in Vinsobres – an appellation cru in the South part of the Cotes du Rhone wine region in France. There he is cultivating 8 hectares of black Grenache, Syrah and Carignan old vines. In addition, his strategy is to develop a range of white wines, for which new varieties have been planted, white Grenache and Picpoul that will complement the old Viognier and Marsanne grapes.
A little later, he has acquired the Chateau MontPlaisir in Valreas, 15 km away, which is a beautiful 17th century mansion, surrounded by another 4 hectares of vineyards.
The project is completed by a newly built modern winery which works with gravity, a shop and a tasting room, where we welcome visiting groups for different events with focus on wine – tasting, trainings and classes, food & wine matching dinners, receptions, etc.
Very recently, SAS Chateau MontPlaisir has joined China Awards 2020 – by Shanghai Paper and won Three Gold Medal Award in this prestigious competition:
| Expressions, 60% Syrah, 40% Grenache, Cru Vinsobres red 2017 |
| Expressions, 60% Syrah, 40% Grenache, Cru Vinsobres red 2018 |
| Eclats, 80% viognier, 20% marsanne, Cotes du Rhone Villages white 2019 |
Interview of Ms. Evgenia Panova – SAS Chateau MontPlaisir
Question 1: Do you already export to Asia ? If yes, where ? If no, what type of importers & distributors are you looking for in Asia ?
Yes. Our importer in China is Red of Gaule, based in the city of Guangzhou.
Question 2: What is the most unique and qualitative part of your products, different from competitors ?
Our vines grow on a remarkable terroir and our objective is to keep its identity.
Six million years ago, when the Mediterranean had withdrawn completely, the powerful mountain torrents running down from the Alpes dragged down the rocks which now constitute the conglomerate of the plateau of Vinsobres. This is a hilly terrain, situated north of Mont Ventoux, in the heart of the Miocene sedimentary basin of Valréas. It rises 500 meters above sea level and represents very rocky hilltops. The ground is mainly covered with galets roulés, with marl giving the land the red and brown colors.
The pebbles ( galets roulés) absorb the heat during the day and warm at night the old vines of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan, thus contributing to their perfect ripening. The soil is well-drained, which requires the vines to develop deep roots to draw resources from deep below the surface of the ground.
The altitude of 500m is really important to produce quality wines with a lot of freshness, as it balances the impact of the warming of the climate.
Question 3: When did you start to export your brand worldwide, and what is your development plan for the next years ?
We have exported from the beginning to neighbouring European countries such as Germany, Belgium and Sweden.
More recently, in 2019 we had the opportunity to start business relations with importers in California, USA and in Guangzhou, China and to export our wines there for the first time
As soon as the Covid-19 crisis is overcome, we are willing to continue our business developments in these two countries.
We are interested to export to other countries on Asia, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taïwan and Hongkong and we are looking to find importers on this market.
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