The Story
The philosophy behind work in both the vineyard and cellars is akin to that of a goldsmith, as befits a terroir of this calibre. It calls for careful decision-making and meticulous execution.
Soil management is entirely organic and viticulture is sustainable, with green cover between the vine rows and Guyot double pruning. Picking is done entirely by hand. The grapes are sorted and put into small vats corresponding to specific plots; each vat receives individual attention. Pigeage (punching down the cap) is practised.
Winemaking is constantly fine-tuned and whole berries have been fermented since 2012, along with a small proportion of stems to develop floral aromas.
Ageing takes place for 18-24 months in barrels from the finest coopers. Fifty percent of these are new every year.
Read more
Vintage 1975
Bordeaux: After four miserable vintages came the hot vintage of 1975 which put Bordeaux wines briefly into the limelight once again. The unsettled temperature in September turned into good weather for the harvest. Grapes were high in sugar content, but for many reds especially Cabernet Sauvignon based ones were lacking of phenolic ripeness. This yielded masculine and even aggressive reds with austere and even hard tannins.
Graves and Pomerol wines have proved to be the most delicious from this year. La Mission Haut-Brion and Lafleur-Pétrus stand out as the best ones, with Trotanoy just after them.Pétrus has proven to be the very exceptional with more aggressive and full-bodied style than usually. The Lafite-Rothschild at the reasonable price of 300 euro is the first seventies Lafite that gives a promise of improvement. On the other hand Haut-Brion considered very good has proven to be a slight disappointment.
For dry whites this was outstanding and Sauternes an excellent vintage. The best Sauternes experiences have been Yquem, Coutet, Gilette and Suduiraut.
Read more
