Château de La Chaize, Wine estate and listed château in Odenas, Rhône, France

Château de La Chaize is a wine estate and classified historical monument at Odenas in the Rhône, the largest wine château in the Beaujolais. Its pale ochre facade has three symmetrical bodies facing the garden, the central one topped by a triangular pediment, under slate roofs; two lower wings end in pavilions. A low stone wall with an arched gate encloses the gravel forecourt.

François de La Chaize d'Aix bought the old Château de la Douze in 1652; after it partly collapsed in 1673, killing his two sons, he had a new château built from 1674 to 1676 on plans by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, with gardens by André Le Nôtre. In April 1677 letters patent raised the lands into the county of La Chaize. The estate stayed in the family until its 2017 purchase by Lyon businessman Christophe Gruy.

The estate's name honours François de La Chaize d'Aix, chaplain to Louis XIV, whose court support helped his nephew rebuild after the old Château de la Douze collapsed in 1673. The garden keeps a potager laid out in rays from a central basin, sown with flowers and vegetables and holding more than 200 rose varieties.

The estate lies on the slopes of the Beaujolais mountains in the Brouilly area, with the French-style garden and the sun-shaped kitchen garden covering about 1.5 hectares in front of the château. The garden and kitchen garden are part of the 1972 listed monument, and the kitchen garden is laid out in rays from a central basin. The château itself is not open for casual wandering; visits are organised, so check arrangements before travelling.

The estate's 110 hectares of vines lie across four Beaujolais appellations: Brouilly, Côte-de-Brouilly, Fleurie and Morgon. Each parcel is vinified separately, so a single property yields wines of distinct crus. The wine ages in a cellar 108 metres long, under a 17th-century roof frame in the classified cuvage.