The story of Dalem Castle
Between tradition and innovation
THEDalem Castleis a house that dates from the18thcentury. Located on theFronsac appellationLocated in the commune of Saillans near Libourne, the château overlooks the Isle Valley. It also faces the prestigious vineyards of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion.
The beginnings of the exploitation ofDalem Castledate from1955, period whenMichel Rulliertakes over the operation. For nearly 40 years,Michel Rullierwill ensure the transformation and renovation of the vineyard to constantly improve the quality of production. Modernity and techniques ofwinemakingthatMichel Rullierwill propose will propel theDalem Castleto bring it to the forefront and promote its international development.
In 2002, it was his daughter,Brigitte Rullier Loussertwho takes over the reins of theDalem Castlerepresenting the fourth generation of this family business. After two years of planning, expansion and modernization work was carried out on the buildings, with the aim of combining tradition and innovation. The vineyard has thus grown from 15 to 40 hectares.
The terroir of Château Dalem
A unique identity for Château Dalem
Since 2002,Brigitte Rullier LoussertHe puts all his energy into managing his vineyard. On an area of40 hectares, the vines have on average40 years oldThe grape varieties are at90% Merlotand to10% Cabernet FrancRecently theThe vineyard has been restructuredVines were planted and plots of land were purchased. This entire restructuring was primarily aimed at balancing the grape varieties. To date, theDalem Castlehas a micro palette of terroir that defines the identity ofCastle.
The wine cellarwas also redesigned after two years of reflection. The objective was tocombining tradition and innovationThis new winery therefore has a new, functional technical fermentation room with tanks of different sizes in order to preserve the unique identity of theCastle, namely an identity of micro-plots. The winery also hasburied barrels, for aperfect masteryof the temperature and thehygrometryThe vat room is also semi-circular in order to follow the sun's cycle.
Winemaking at Château Dalem
Precision in the service of quality
The vineyard isfacing south, and is implanted onclay-limestone hillsideswith aFronsac molasse subsoilThe vines are cultivated inintegrated pest managementand each plot benefits from a specific approach.
Livestock farmingtakes place over a period of18 monthsand in new barrels.40%barrels are renewed every year and the toasting levels are chosen to best respect the expression of the fruit.
The wines ofDalem Castlesurprise by theirroundnessand theirgluttonyThe terroir is of extremely high quality, and the passion that goes into it is evident.Brigitte Rullier Loussertonly makes it shineFronsac appellation.
