Château Shuette

Our mission is to ask “What would you make today if the AOC never existed?” 

Freeing ourselves of expectations, regulations and boundaries to focus on modern vineyard management, winemaking techniques and drinking. 

Occasionally we will create a wine that can be compared to a traditional Bordeaux but this decision is motivated by our love of the style and the fruit we harvested, not by our location. 

My hope is that instead of making an imitation of the AOC’s vision, we can forge a new path and add to the repertoire of the region. 

We took two years to find the location for Shuette. My wife and I searched all over Europe for the perfect spot. Our search was never about a country, region, or style. We wanted an estate with a working, healthy organic/biodynamic vineyard, with space to enrich the environment through regenerative farming practices.

France is one of the few places where you can still get fantastic terroir with attached farmland. Usually, great grape-growing areas have been totally consumed by monoculture vineyards. We selected the vineyard because of its attributes, not for the country, region, or classical wine styles.

Shuette is in Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, and the vineyard is in one block, directly backing onto the Dordogne River. Its 40-year-old vines have always been organic and cared for by hand (something extremely rare in Bordeaux, where barely 12% of vineyards are organic today). The wide and deep tidal river is responsible for both the fertile clay and mineral schist soil, but also the significant diurnal temperature change we experience. In summer, our vines are cooled by morning fog, extending our growing season for better maturity and acidity.

At Shuette we follow regenerative farming principles that encompass organic farming with biodynamic practices, agroforestry, wildlife preservation, and diversification. For example, we have over 250 fruit trees planted through and around the vineyard, each with its own bird box and wild border, integrating diversity into our land.