Deep, coarse-textured calcosol with pebbles under gravel topsoil. Thissoil retains warmth and is conducive to early ripening.
It also overlays a2-metre deep hard, slightly fragmented, limestone bedrock. This physical barrier limits the depth of the roots, promoting the gradual onset of moderate water stress from véraison (colour change) throughout ripening. This restricts the sizeof the grapes, boosting the synthesis of phenolic compounds a n d concentration of anthocyanins. The thick, deeply- coloured skins are highly tannic and aromatic.
VITICULTURE
Sustainable pruning, bud pruning, leaf thinning, green harvesting. The high leaf canopy rapidly consumes thesoil's water reserves by evapotranspiration and ensures an adequate leaf-to-fruit ratio, propitious to good concentration and extraction. The grapesare picked early in the morning at optimum ripeness(slightly overripe), topreserve their intrinsic fruitiness and full aromatic expression.
YIELD 54 hl/ha
FERMENTATION AND AGEING
The grapes from each plot were fermented separately 1( vat =1 plot) with72-hour cold pre-fermentation maceration (10°C), vatting at 26°C for 71 days with daily pumping over, "quick" malolactic fermentation (inbarrel for the Cabernets). The wines were put into barrels previouslyusedfor 2/3 vintages earlier than usual, ni November, and age for 12 months.