Château Petit-Village

The 2018 Vintage Report

2018 was a challending year with outstanding results. 

After a winter with temperatures slightly below the ten-year average and regular rainfall between December and March (just over 500mm), rainy weather continued in March with lower than average temperatures lower.
Bud break started late, around April 10th, with consistent budding. Flowering started rather early, around May 25th for the Merlots, and took place rapidly. The spring and early summer of 2018 were among the most difficult that we have ever had to face. All weather conditions seemed to be perfectly aligned for a devastating and prolonged attack of mildew; however, once this very alarming early part of the year had passed, much more beneficial conditions prevailed.

The onset of veraison was observed on July 23rd in our Merlot plots, a few days earlier than in 2017. On the other hand this phase took longer due to the summer drought. The vineyard's water reserves allowed maturity of the tannins to develop well, despite the water shortage of previous months. Thanks to hot days and cooler nights the conditions for ripening were ideal. 
With ideal weather conditions, the harvest took place smoothly from September 19th to October 1st, with a total of 6 days of harvesting.

Tasting note (August 2020)
"Château Petit-Village 2018 unveils, at first glance, a bright, ruby colour. The very expressive nose reveals notes of blackberries, cherries, and licorice which finishes with a floral touch of violettes. The palate is perfectly balanced with silky tannins. Its finish is long and savory with an aromatic return of dark fruits." Diana Berrouet, Technical Director

Château Petit-Village is a jewel set in the highest part of the magnificent terroir of the Pomerol plateau, on deep gravel and clay soils with a ferrous base in the heart of the appellation.

The past few years have seen major renovations and changes at Château Petit-Village. Significant replanting of the vineyard had occurred, with the long term aim of maximising quality. Short term this means that quantities of Château Petit-Village are lower than before, production of the Grand Vin coming only from the best old vine production. The winery has been completely rebuilt, with a new vatroom of concrete vats of varying sizes designed exactly for our terroir, that enable us to vinify each small parcel separately.

These changes have begun to bear fruit, with the significant improvement in quality of the wines of the property in recent years already remarked upon by the world’s wine press.

The wines of Château Petit-Village are fresh and balanced with remarkable intensity of fruit and all the incomparable richness and finesse of the greatest wines of Pomerol.

Producing a great wine involves an infinite capacity for taking pains, an obsessive attention to hundreds of small details.

All year round, the team at Château Petit-Village carefully carries out all the traditional work on the vines, such as pruning and shoot removal, leaf stripping and green harvesting, to make sure there are fewer grapes in each bunch, but that those grapes are more concentrated in substance and tannins.

This work demands care and precision and is carried out with the greatest respect for the soil and the environment. A combination of analyses and tasting sessions determines when harvesting should start. The grapes are picked bunch by bunch, by hand, in 30-kilo trays. The harvesters make their way down the rows of vines, only picking the grapes when they are perfectly ripe. In fact there are two sorting processes: one when the grapes are picked from the vines and the second on the sorting table when the harvest enters the vat-house.

When the harvest is brought into the vat-house, it has already beensorted carefully. Any damaged or insufficiently ripe grapes are eliminated. Then there is a second sorting process before they are de-stemmed and lightly crushed.

Then comes meticulous plot-by-plot vinification for 25 days in temperature-controlled vats that allow personalised handling. From 2007 onwards, we also started pigeage. This involves pushing the cap of solids down into the grape must to extract all the substances from the grapes gently. It is an excellent way of extracting all the substance and colour without being too rough on the grapes. After the malolactic fermentation stage, all the wines are carefully matured in oak casks – of which 70% are new – for about 15 months.

The whole of the process is guided by our vision and our respect for the terroir in its fullest expression.