Chateau Petit Village and Chateau Pichon Longueville are opening new cellars and visitor centres – after three years of work in Pomerol, and two in Pauillac.

The architect for both properties was Alain Triaud, who has also completed projects for Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou in Saint Julien.

The cellar at Pichon Baron is estimated to have cost around €2m. No figure was available for Petit Village.

Both cellars make use of low-impact techniques such as gravity-feeding of the grapes, peristaltic pumps and manual punching down of the cap during fermentation.

At Pichon Longueville in Pauillac the entire cellar is underground. The reflective pool for which the chateau is known was drained and replaced above the cellar when the work was complete.

The Petit Village development in Pomerol officially opened late last month, while Pichon Longueville will have its official opening in time for En Primeur tastings, from March 31 to April 4.

Both properties will also now feature expanded wine tourism facilities, with visitor centres and shops.

Written by Jane Anson

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Jane Anson
Jane Anson

Jane Anson was Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent until 2021 and has lived in the region since 2003. She writes a monthly wine column for Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, and is the author of Bordeaux Legends: The 1855 First Growth Wines (also published in French as Elixirs). In addition, she has contributed to the Michelin guide to the Wine Regions of France and was the Bordeaux and Southwest France author of The Wine Opus and 1000 Great Wines That Won’t Cost a Fortune. An accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux École du Vin, Anson holds a masters in publishing from University College London, and a tasting diploma from the Bordeaux faculty of oenology.

Roederer awards 2016: International Feature Writer of the Year