Chateau Cambon

About

Owners: Marie Lapierre, Jean Claude Chanudet, and Alexandre Iwasuila
Winemakers: Jean Claude Chanudet and Alexandre Iwasuila
Vineyards: 18.5ha across about twenty parcels
Vineyard management: Certified organic
Soils: Clay, chalk, and granite
Grapes grown: Gamay and Chardonnay
Annual production: 80,000-100,000 bottles

Quick facts:

• Chateau Cambon was founded by two giants of the Beaujolais natural wine world, Marcel Lapierre and Jean-Claude Chanudet. Marcel’s wife Marie took over for her late husband after his passing in 2010.
• Jean-Claude Chanudet also makes the wines at Domaine Chamonard–he’s married to Genevieve Chamonard, and together they took charge of her family estate after her father Joseph passed away in 1990.
• “We make wines with no additives, ‘natural style,’ as much as I detest this word which doesn’t mean very much… Our goal is to make wines of terroir, bringing pleasure to our customers and making them want to drink more!” – Marie Lapierre

Around the turn of the millenium, Beaujolais pioneers and friends Marcel Lapierre and Jean-Claude Chanudet (of Domaine Chamonard) discovered a gem of a property just outside the edges of Morgon and Brouilly. The pair, being avid proponents and practitioners of biodynamics and the natural winemaking philosophies of Jules Chauvet, were pleased to find land and vines that had gone unspoiled by the modern age of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This Gamay vineyard became the site for Chateau Cambon. Marie Lapierre, Marcel’s widow, ran the estate after his passing in 2010 until the summer of 2022, when she passed the reins to Alexandre Iwasuila. Jean-Claude is still in charge of winemaking, as he has been since the beginning. Whole bunches are spontaneously fermented in old oak with semi-carbonic maceration, which Marie calls “the most appropriate fermentation style for Gamay.” Despite the increasing challenges of heat and drought in recent years, their dedicated farming has allowed them to maintain some of the freshness they seek.

Cambon continues the tradition of Domaines Lapierre & Chamonard in style and focus, celebrating Gamay by creating wines of purity and joy. The wines bear the hallmark of the late, great Marcel Lapierre, with the formidable contributions of many others over the years. Jean-Claude now sustains this legacy with wines of exceptional value, drinkability, and fun, and he’s passing his savoir-faire onto Alexandre. Everything we love about Beaujolais is present in a bottle of Chateau Cambon.