Nose
The 2014 vintage, generous, gave birth to powerful and elegant wines with a beautiful aromatic complexity and a nice freshness.
Growing Conditions
Thanks to the mild weather conditions of spring 2014, the flowering was fast and homogenous raising winegrowers’ optimism. Alternating between sunny days and cool nights, the month of July contributes to the berries’ healthy development. Starting in August, the hopes for a nice vintage unfortunately give way to anxiety. Only a miracle can save the vintage ... the months of September and October exceeded our expectations! Typical of an Indian summer, sunshine and warm temperatures enabled us to harvest with calm and confidence and to pick beautiful grapes.
Harvest
Soil: Garonne gravels from the quaternary period
Average age of vines: 24 years old
Planting density : 7200 vines/ha Sustainable viticulture
Bud pruning, desuckering, deleafing and green harvest when necessary
Bottling
Egg-white fining
No filtering before bottling
Winemaking
Harvest: manual and by machine
Double sorting: mechanical then manual on a vibrating table
Vinification plot by plot; fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks (40 to 180 hl). Post fermentation maceration between 20 and 26 days. Malolactic fermentation: 30% done in new oak barrels
Aging : 12 months in oak barrels; 30% new oak Follow-up of barrels' quality: blind testing every 4 months. Racking every 4 months