Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Facade
© Erik Saillet
Saint-Émilion, France

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - FacadeChateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Image 3 of 20Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Image 4 of 20Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - WindowsChateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - More Images+ 15

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Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Facade
© Erik Saillet

Text description provided by the architects. With a view to improving wine production at Château Cheval Blanc, owners Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère asked Christian de Portzamparc to design a new winery. In this vineyard shaped by man over the centuries, the architect envisioned a winery shaped like a belvedere projecting out from the château and opening onto the beautiful landscape.
Based on discussions with the director of the Château, Pierre Lurton, who has extensive experience of wine-making in concrete vats, much appreciated at Cheval Blanc, the architect designed a curved vat shaped like a tasting glass to optimize oxygenation.

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Image 7 of 20
© Erik Saillet

Divided into 52 units with dimensions varying according to the vineyard plots, they provide a showcase for each vine, as requested by Pierre Lurton. No line here is superfluous: everything contributes to perfecting the wine-making process and the movements carried out in the winery: the geometry of the curved surfaces in molded concrete, the unique atmosphere created by the natural light descending earthwards, caressing the load-bearing shear wall surrounding the large concrete sculptures of the vat house.

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Image 8 of 20
© Erik Saillet

The barrel winery below is like a crypt and has a totally different atmosphere, bordered by a brick moucharaby wall to facilitate natural ventilation.
Halfway between the interior and exterior, the winery is a place of transmutation and interaction with nature. This is where exceptional wine is made and where, through architecture, modernity meets centuries-old experience.

Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc - Image 14 of 20
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Project location

Address:Cheval Blanc, 33330 Saint-Émilion, France

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Chateau Cheval Blanc Winer / Christian de Portzamparc" 09 Dec 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/455019/chateau-cheval-blanc-winer-agences-elizabeth-christian-de-portzamparc> ISSN 0719-8884

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