Château Dalem

Château Dalem is an 18th-century property facing Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, and its vineyard was created in 1610. The property belonged to the same family for three centuries before Michel Rullier purchased it in 1955. His daughter Brigitte Rullier-Loussert took over in 2002, and in 2018 her son Charles Pouvreau joined to carry on promoting the family vineyard. Brigitte Rullier-Loussert also owns Château de La Huste, in the commune of Saillans, and she started to extend the vineyards of her two properties: she added 11 hectares in 2015 and another 10 hectares in 2018, taking the total surface to 40 hectares. Château de La Huste has 15 hectares of its own, and its wines are vinified in the cellars of Château Dalem.

• 1610: the vineyard was created.
• 1955: purchased by Michel Rullier; 2002: taken over by his daughter Brigitte Rullier-Loussert.
• 2018: Charles Pouvreau, Brigitte Rullier-Loussert's son, joined the estate.
• 2015 and 2018: 11 and then 10 hectares added across Château Dalem and Château de La Huste, for 40 hectares in total.

Brigitte Rullier-Loussert and her son Charles Pouvreau are the owners of Château Dalem. Brigitte Rullier-Loussert took over from her father in 2002, and Charles Pouvreau joined in 2018. Eric Boissenot has worked with the estate as consultant oenologist since 2019 and is named as oenologist on the 2023 and 2024 technical sheets. The estate's technical sheets are issued under the name Vignobles Brigitte Rullier, Saillans.

• Owners: Brigitte Rullier-Loussert and her son Charles Pouvreau.
• Brigitte Rullier-Loussert took over from her father in 2002; Charles Pouvreau joined in 2018.
• Consultant oenologist: Eric Boissenot, since 2019.

The vineyard covers 20 hectares divided into 15 plots, each a small individual vineyard with its own identity, soil, grape variety and age; together they form a patchwork of clay and limestone terroirs. The terroir is 80% clay-limestone hillsides and plateaux and 20% an iron deposit known as molasses du Fronsadais. The planting is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, the average age of the vines is 40 years, and the planting density is 6,666 vines per hectare. Vineyard management is sustainable, with organic or biocontrol phytosanitary treatments, and the estate has held high environmental value (HVE) certification since 2017.

• 20 hectares in 15 plots, each with its own soil, grape variety and age.
• Terroir: 80% clay-limestone hillsides and plateaux, 20% iron deposit (molasses du Fronsadais).
• Planting: 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc; average vine age 40 years; 6,666 vines per hectare.
• Sustainable management with organic or biocontrol treatments; HVE certification since 2017.

Construction of a new three-floor winery began in 2017, and it was unveiled in 2019. The building holds a semicircular fermenting room, an underground barrel room and a terrace with a panoramic view, and the cellars use an entirely gravity-fed system of vinification. All harvesting is by hand, with the grapes picked to follow the ripeness of each grape variety and each plot, then sorted before and after destemming, including densimetric sorting. Each year a vat is dedicated to each single plot, so the full range of the estate's terroirs is available at blending. Fermentation takes place in concrete and stainless steel vats with integrated thermoregulation; the wine spends 3 to 4 weeks in vat and is then transferred directly into barrels for the malolactic fermentation. It ages sixteen to eighteen months in the underground barrel room, held at 14°C, in barrels made exclusively from French oak by six, sometimes seven, different coopers.

• Winery begun in 2017 and unveiled in 2019: semicircular fermenting room, underground barrel room, gravity-fed vinification.
• Hand harvest by plot and by grape variety; sorting before and after destemming, including densimetric sorting.
• One vat per plot each year; fermentation in thermoregulated concrete and stainless steel vats; 3 to 4 weeks in vat; malolactic fermentation in barrel.
• Ageing for 16 to 18 months at 14°C in French oak barrels from six, sometimes seven, coopers.

The 2018 and 2019 were blends of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc with a vatting time of 28 days, aged 18 months in 40% new French oak barrels. The 2020 was also 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with 24 days of vatting and 18 months in 50% new French oak barrels. The 2022 was 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc from 15 plots, with a yield of 32 hl/ha and 18 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. The 2023 blend is 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, with yields of 35 hL/ha and an estimated production of 65,000 bottles; the 2024 is 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, with yields of 13 hL/ha and an estimated production of 34,000 bottles.

• 2018 and 2019: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc; 28 days of vatting; 18 months in 40% new French oak.
• 2020: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc; 24 days of vatting; 18 months in 50% new French oak.
• 2022: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc; 32 hl/ha; 18 months in French oak, 50% new.
• 2023: 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec; 35 hL/ha; estimated 65,000 bottles.
• 2024: 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec; 13 hL/ha; estimated 34,000 bottles.

Brigitte Rullier-Loussert has kept a high proportion of Merlot, which she calls the grape variety that fits best with her terroir. In her words, 'Each vintage contributes to the history of Château DALEM. There are no lesser quality wines, only different vintages.' She defines the Dalem style as 'the alliance of an audacious grape variety and an outstanding terroir.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.chateaudalem.com/en/, https://www.chateaudalem.com/, and the estate's documents (PDF): https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Nouvelle-fiche-presentation-Dalem-EN.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Technical-Sheet-Chateau-Dalem-2018-angl.pdf.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Technical-Sheet-Chateau-Dalem-2019-angl.pdf.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Technical-Sheet-Chateau-Dalem-2020-angl.pdf.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Fiche-tech.-Chateau-Dalem-2022-EN.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FT-Primeur-2023-DALEM-.pdf, https://www.chateaudalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FT-Primeur-2024-DALEM.pdf. Sister estate's site (same owners): https://www.chateau-delahuste.com/. Secondary source: Winedoctor, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/dalem.shtml. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.