The estate
The vineyard
Our vineyard is located between La Brède and Saint-Selve, and stretches over two small islands.
The estate covers 16 hectares (HEV 3), nine of which are planted with red and seven with white.
We apply an integrated farming system at the vineyard, so we work the soil and manage the vine according to the type of terroir and to the five grape varieties grown at the estate.
The reds are planted on a gravelly plateau made up of small pebbles, quartz and flint.
Its nutrient-poor, well-drained soils are ideal for achieving optimum Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) and Merlot (50%) maturity.
The clayey-limestone and sandy hillside is well-suited to our white grape varieties (Semillon 70%, Sauvignon 20%, Muscadelle 10%). Its north-east exposure preserves the terroir’s aromatic freshness and individual characteristics, while delivering a mineral quality necessary for producing a great dry white wine. Our estate’s oldest plot dates back to 1946, and is planted with white Semillon. For the past several decades we have produced mainly white wines. Our red vines are on average 20 years old, and our white vines 30.
The cellar
For winegrowers, this is where everything takes place, it is where the grapes are transformed and decisions are made to create a great wine. We like to permanently question our way of working, to ensure our cellar always benefits from cutting-edge technologies.
Since the 1980s, our cellar has had a thermoregulated fermentation cellar, which allows us to control the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation of our wines.
In 2005, we decided to renovate the cement fermenting room. Cement is a very good thermal conductor, and helps to preserve our red wines during ageing.
Because we wanted to produce fruitier wines, we invested in 2016 in another thermoregulation system for our red wine vats and bought a maceration vat for our whites.
More recently we introduced a sorting table, to remove different types of plant debris (leaves, petioles, seeds and damaged berries).
We have also invested in a set of French oak barrels, which will improve the maturation and ageing potential of our wines.
After several vintages, we narrowed down our choice of coopers. We selected Burgundy coopers because they strike a unique balance between the wood and the fruit, more in keeping with our style.