Palate

The wines have a lot of charm, a balanced structure with soft and mellow tannins, a nice fruit, a remarkable freshness

Growing Conditions

2011 is a year of climate paradoxes. A spring like a summer with very hot days from the end of May and very little rain lead to a big advance in the cycle of the vine (about 1 month) and a perfect sanitary condition. Early budding: from the 30th of March. Flowering: second half of May. A summer resembling a spring, so that “in July, everything goes back”, the vine still retaining 15 days ahead of its normal cycle. Rainfall is above the average of the previous 30 years. August lack of heat with above-normal rainfall and tropical weather the last week.

- Sustainable viticulture: Terra Vitis
- Soil type: Gravelly Pyrenean soil covering a limestone subsoil.
- Area: 32 hectares

The vines are cultivated according to environmentally friendly growing
practices, respecting both the plant and its environment. Vine care constantly
ensures that a balance is maintained between the plant and its environment in view
of achieving well-aired foliage and a regular load of grapes, which gradually ripen in
the sunshine. Depending on their nature, the parcels are ploughed or grassed over
between the rows.

Harvest

The harvest starts on September 15th and ends on the 30th. If the beginning is under the grisaille, with a fairly fast harvest of the merlots that are ripe, the climatic conditions improve from the 19th with cool nights and hot days. allow to wait for the maturity of the Cabernets harvested at the end of the month. The extraction of tannins was done gently to obtain balance and finesse.

Winemaking

A strict selection of the parcels and the grapes takes place
during the harvest. After a gentle crushing and destemming of the grapes, the must
is put into small-thermoregulated vats ensuring that the fermentations are perfectly
controlled, bringing out the expression, the richness and the nuances of each plot.
The vatting period lasts 20 to 25 days depending on the vintage.

Aging

Maturing lasts around 12 months in merrian oak barrels, a 1/3 of which are
replaced each year. We then undertake the final blending before bottling at the
chateau.

- 30% new oak barrels