Haut Médoc AOC Cru Bourgeois 2018, Château du Retout

Grower: Helene Soual-Kopp

Age of Vines: 40 years old

Grapes: 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Black Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot

Village: Cussac-Fort-Médoc

Region: Bordeaux

Soil: White pebbles on clay and chalk with deep Pyrenees gravel; similar to the appellation St Julien

Production Methods: Debudding and green harvest. Two selection of grapes on the table. Traditional temperature-controlled maceration over 4 weeks with slow fermentation. Stirring as slowly as possible. No press wine used, only the first juice from maceration. Light and slow filtration by drawing off. Aged in fine grained French oak 1/3 new, 1/3 1st year, 1/3 2nd year oak, for one year. No added sulphur.

Special Features: The best of 32 hectares are used to produce 90 000 bottles. Yield 50 hl/ha. 1.5 metre rows planted with vines every 1 metre. Exposition of plots North/South and East/West. Vines grow on double Guyot, farmed entirely by hand, leaving the grass in between rows during winter. Minimum human intervention using compost made only with recycled vines, horse, manure, and natural fertiliser.

Country: France