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Key figures

Origin and history

Besseuil Castle stands in Clessé, Saône-et-Loire, north of the village, on a slope side. It consists of a rectangular house body flanked by two pavilions, preceded by a courtyard with commons and accessible by a cochère door. Inside, a room on the ground floor maintains an adorned fireplace dated 1657, while a 17th century chapel is located in the park in the east. The estate, today a 4-star hotel, includes a four-hectare AOC Chardonnay vineyard.

The seigneury of Clessé was attested in 1590, owned by the canons of Saint-Pierre de Mâcon, then by Antoine de l'Aubépin in 1595. Around 1620, François de Rébé, provost of Saint-Pierre, strengthened the estate. In the middle of the 16th century, Pierre de Sagie, the husband of Philiberte de Viard, may have built a first dwelling. In 1646 Archambaud de Chanuet, receiver of Macon and son-in-law of the previous, inherited the estate and built the present castle, preserved in his family until the Revolution. Deep changes around 1737 gave it its final appearance.

In the 19th century, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc called the castle a "little jewel". Between May 2005 and October 2007, a complete restoration was carried out under the direction of Swiss architect André Meillard. The site, combining historical heritage and viticulture, illustrates the architectural and social evolution of Burgundy since the Ancien Régime.

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