Clos de l'Oratoire

The history of Clos de l’Oratoire dates from when a number of vineyard plots, and the farming of these, were separated from the main vineyard of Château Peyreau and were subsequently ranked as a classified growth in 1969, on the first revision of the original Saint-Emilion classification.

In this year the Comtes von Neipperg, owners in Saint-Emilion of Château Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte, acquired the Clos. Vines, an ever-present feature in their German estates since the 13th century, have always been at the heart of family life there.

Stephan von Neipperg, the heir to some 800 years of family wine-growing tradition, took over the reins in this year. Just as he had done at his other estates, and ably supported by his teams, he quickly introduced the same wine-growing philosophy, based above all on care and attention for the soils.

After several years of preparation, Clos de l’Oratoire began its conversion to organic farming. The vineyard’s terroir and its components, valued by the estate as a living entity to be carefully preserved, are the cornerstone on which unique wines displaying a faithful reflection of their origin are made.