The passion for the Beaujolais was born during the winter of 1964 when Francoise and Jean went to the Beaujolais on their honeymoon. To Saint-Amour of course! They brought back a “quart de piece” – a little barrel to accompany the first meals with their friends in their little apartment.

Since that time their passion has grown over the years….even if the dream stayed tucked away at the back of the drawer for a long time.

Many years later, at Odenas at the Domaine de la Folie, Catherine followed the Beaujolais route to work on the Cote de Brouilly grape harvests on several occasions.

Time…love….madness….what more did it take at the time when they had decided to slow down on their activities, for Jean to look for the opportunity to buy a property in the region.

And there they were again – off on the Beaujolais route. A route which in fact they have never stopped travelling. As much to bring back a few bottles for the family cellar as to visit their friends all close to Cours-La-Ville ; les Vieilly.

And so it began in 2005, the project to purchase the property known as Fustier… A project which will take almost a year to realise completely. A whole family, 4 grown up sons ---- children, daughters-in –law, grandchildren, adults themselves… Not easy to get everybody to agree on the takeover of a property composed of several buildings and also about twelve hectares of vines.

The appeal is in the large principal house, which had never served as anything other than a holiday home and which the people of Durette called the “chateau”. It is made up of large living quarters above a fermenting installation which had become obsolete with the time, and with several smaller houses adjoining it; houses known as “the wine makers’ houses”.

In the main courtyard, perpendicular to the large building is another house, the construction date of which is probably earlier than that of the “chateau”. It is nicknamed the “Maison des Belges” (the House of the Belgians). In fact during the First World War some Belgians found refuge there and gave the name to the house. The circle is complete!!! Durette is a little hamlet at the entrance to Regnie. Folklore, tradition, history and passion as well lead to the belief that the best vines for the production of Regnie are found on the ancient “territory” of Durette….But who really knows?

Very soon after the purchase of the property in March, with an idea of producing their own wine, Jean suggested to Francoise that she join him in forming a company called “Chateau de Durette”….

A designation “Chateau” in the Beaujolais! This designation is justified on the one hand by the character of the house, a grand and noble building, even if a bit “simple”, but also by this designation which has come down through the centuries. Furthermore, just behind the “chateau” there is a bread oven, which in the Middle Ages must have probably been the oven for the hamlet.

And so this is how the doors of the Chateau de Durette opened once again in December!

Very quickly the work began! One had to be everywhere at once…On the one hand work was beginning on the living quarters and on the other hand the construction of new fermenting installations were being envisaged with all the necessary administration dealings.

It was not until mid June that the works really began.

The hamlet of Durette existed already at the time of the Gallo-romans. It is a name of Celtic origin. Dure meaning door shows the position of the ford of the Ardieres in the community. Monsieur Fustier, the former owner of the Chateau told us that the hamlet already existed in the year 1000. It is extremely rare for a building like this to come down through the centuries.

One of his ancestors: a nobleman named Fustier married a Demoiselle Sanlaville and this is how the chateau came into the Fustier family. The “S” of the Sanlavilles can be seen on the balcony of the main house, and this emblem can also be found on the front of the Town Hall of Beaujeu.

He also told us that a vine from Durette was presented to King Louis XI, King of France from 1461 to 1483, and father of Pierre II De Bourbon, sire of Beaujeu, who married Anne of France, known by the name of Anne of Beaujeu.

Little by little, with a history built from the statements of historians, because documents relating to Durette and Regnie are missing, the village of Durette situated between Ardieres and Regnie became more and more a dependant of Regnie. There is no longer a church in Durette….the principal bell of Durette was melted down and is now in one of the bell towers of the church in Regnie which was built in 1867.