Château Saint-Paul

Chäteau St. Paul is one of two next door neighbors of Chäteau Charmail that were originally part of Charmail in the distant past, but came under different ownership over the decades.

The Liquard-Goudet family has decided to reunite and restore these properties under the “Grand Charmail” project to have one continuous certified organic plot (Charmail at 28 hectares; Saint-Paul at 29; and Bardis at 18). You can see a vintage label of St. Paul – when it used to be part of Charmail decades ago – with the Charmail Chäteaux on its label.

Although the three Chäteau are under the same ownership of the Liquard-Goudet family, each Chäteaux will have a distinct team and identity.

What does the name St-Paul mean? “Sadly, we don’t know!” Vivien Liquard told me on a  recent visit. He continued, “Saint-Paul never had a stone Chäteaux like Charmail or Chäteaux Bardis, it was just a group of wooden farmhouses on the hill. We do have a lithograph of one of the farmhouses of the Saint-Paul property from 1898.”

This hill is south facing with mostly red clay and a bit of blue blue clay which has even better water retention this south facing hillside. Saint-Paul is currently producing one wine using native yeast spontaneous fermentation, with elevage in various cement and steel tanks.

Compared to Charmail, Saint-Paul is lighter on its feet, and more rustically charming. Vivien said he “…likes to have a bottle of Saint-Paul for everyday occasions or lighter meals. Not every meal or snack needs to be a serious occasion.”