Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

A 17th-Century Château in France Gets a Monumental, Sustainability-Focused Restoration

A 17th-Century Château in France Gets a Monumental, Sustainability-Focused Restoration

French architect Didier Repellin leads the recent remodel of the Château de La Chaize estate and winery, drawing inspiration from its original design principles to deliver a modern facility with attention to conservation-both historical and environmental.

Standing at the foot of a full-moon shaped fountain that looks toward the entrance of Château de La Chaize-an estate and winery founded in 1676-one sees a quintessential French domain with blue shutters, a cream-colored facade, and perfectly manicured bushes that line a pathway to a door above which an haute-relief of Bacchus welcomes visitors.



Set across 990 acres of landscaped grounds and vineyards in Burgundy’s Beaujolais region, the 17th-century Château de La Chaize boasts elegant proportions based on the Golden Ratio.

What you don’t see, says Didier Repellin, the architect tasked with modernizing and restoring this historic southern Beaujolais property, is the brilliance of its original makers and artisans: The carpenters. The masons. The stonecutters, engineers, and painters. Without them, without looking to the past, it is impossible to plan and appreciate the present, let alone engage with the future.

"We sometimes forget that historical monuments are not only a date or a style of architecture, but a celebration of human genius," says Repellin of Château de La Chaize, which was classified as a historical monument in 1972. "What is not seen is what makes it stand," the architect continues. "Had it not been for the exceptional work of the masons, we would have cracks everywhere, or destruction. When we see where they started from-a medieval castle-and what they managed to rebalance, we must have total humility and respect."



Founder Jean-François de La Chaize d’Aix hired architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and landscape architect André Le Nôtre to design Château de La Chaize roughly 350 years ago. To carry out the recent restorations without undermining the château’s historical integrity, owner Christophe Gruy called on Didier Repellin, head architect of the French Historical Monuments.

Indeed, Château de La Chaize itself was built on the original foundations of another castle called La Douze, facing Mont Brouilly. In 1670, Jean-François de La Chaize d’Aix, King Louis XIV’s lieutenant, purchased the structure and hired architects Jules Hardouin-Mansart to design a new château using the tenants of the Golden Ratio-a mathematical ratio commonly found in nature that describes a perfect symmetry between two proportions. He also assigned landscape architect André Le Nôtre, gardener to the king who developed the gardens of Versailles, to adopt similar techniques when imagining the château’s green spaces.

It’s no wonder that now, centuries later, the current architect tasked with updating the grounds is more enamored with conservation than total renovation. "If it is good, why would we touch it?" Repellin says. "On the contrary, we must magnify it. This is a true opportunity to allow the monument to continue to live by adapting it to contemporary needs."



The Château, La Chaize vineyard, and the newly restored chai (storeroom), pictured above, are all registered as French historical monuments.

So what, exactly, has been magnified? To the untrained eye, not much. (And that, says Repellin, equals success.) But under Christophe Gruy, entrepreneur and chairman of the Lyon-based Maïa Group, who purchased the estate in 2017, the adjustments to Château de La Chaize’s core and spirit are massive. For one, the team has recreated a domain-wide entrance linked to the cellar and constructed solid walkways. A new bottling and storage facility has also been built using a 100 percent gravity-production system to ensure minimal carbon footprint from grape to bottle.



Owner Christophe Gruy and his nephew, winemaker Boris Gruy, are leading the estate toward more sustainable efforts with the goal of being certified organic in time for the 2022 harvest.

Furthermore, the entire estate is now dedicated to highlighting sustainable efforts, moving toward the use of solar panels for electricity, recycling to achieve "zero waste," geothermal water treatments, and more. When it comes to actual wine production, the goal is to be certified organic in time for the 2022 harvest. While its chai (pronounced "shay")-one of France’s oldest operating aboveground storerooms-remains intact, Repellin and his team enhanced its remarkable wooden framework to highlight the stainless-steel tanks, even adding a VIP lounge behind a glass wall.



Château de La Chaize’s nearly 400-foot-long cellar, built almost a century after the estate was founded, was one of the largest cellars in the world at that time.



The Chai contains numerous large stainless steel and concrete tanks, and oak barrels, providing the space for the winery to vinify each parcel of land they harvest separately.

The key, he says, is to remember that we are still here to build for humans, by humans. "A monument is a conservatory of old techniques, especially when they are good and still have things to teach," Repellin says. "We have to adapt [the structures] to today’s circumstances, but we must keep the spirit and the reason it was made."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×