Château Carmenère, Petite Réserve, Médoc - 2022

Viticulture

Soil type: 70% sandy-gravel, 16% clay-limestone, 14% sandy-gravel. Planting density: between 6800 and 9100 vines per hectare. Average age of vineyard: 28 years. Shallow tillage (clawing) over part of the vineyard, natural grass cover over 70% of the vineyard, different winter prunings depending on the grape variety, manual and mechanical leaf thinning depending on the grape variety, thinning of bunches if necessary, organic amendment (local cattle manure), rational management of phytosanitary inputs, major use of products that can be used in organic farming and are not toxicologically classified.

Oenology

Yields: around 1 kg of grapes per vine (6 to 8 bunches per vine), i.e. around 50 hl/ha. Optical sorting by machine. Vinification without crushing, put into vats using a peristaltic pump, vinification in concrete vats, stainless steel vats and 400-litre barrels. The Château has 17 plots of vines and 17 vats, so that vinification is carried out on a parcel-by-parcel basis, with pumping over of the vats and fermentation. Malolactic fermentation in temperature-controlled concrete vats. The blend is aged 100% in French oak barrels for around 12 months. Bottled at the estate, without fining.

Suggestions for accompaniment

Piperade • Roast beef • Saint-Nectaire cheese.