Ampelidae: The Domaines
Ampelidae is spread across three domaines, as follows.
The first of the three is La Mailleterie. This is the ‘original’ Brochet domaine, and it has been in the family for several centuries. It lies very close to the railway line heading north out of Poitiers, which is a very recent addition to the landscape, unlike the buildings here which date back to the Middle Ages. They were owned by the Knights Templar during the 16th century, the presence of three Templar tombs testament to this fact. It came to the Brochet family when it was acquired by an ancestor, Marianne Baillet, in 1809. It was passed down through the generations, eventually coming to Frédéric. It perhaps has more symbolic rather than functional significance; the parcel of Pinot Noir with which Frédéric first experimented is here, planted above a deep cellar carved from the limestone bedrock.
Having only started out in 1995, the first major expansion came in 1996, when Frédéric Brochet acquired the Manoir de Lavauguyot, today regarded by Frédéric as the ‘heart’ of Ampelidae. It lies very close to La Mailleterie, 35 hectares of land including 8 hectares of vines surrounding 14th-century buildings which stand on the pilgrimage route down to Santiago de Compostela. Like La Mailleterie these ancient buildings also hide a subterranean cellar, one which is believed to have been excavated by nuns from Notre Dame de Poitiers. During the 19th century the property came into the possession of the Salis family; Rodolphe Salis (1851 – 1897) was the director of Le Chat Noir, the original Parisian cabaret act. At this time the wines of the associated vineyards were being sold under the Vins du Chat Noir label, and this continued after Rodolphe’s death.
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