WINEGROWING PRACTICES
The key elements of Cheval-Blanc's winegrowing philosophy are jointly expressed by Pierre Lurton and Kees Van Leeuwen :
- In the involved production process that goes into making a fine wine, all efforts, both in the vineyard and the cellar, must be aimed at reflecting the soil. Relying on tradition is the best way to achieve this goal.
- The corollary to this is that technological improvements are not an end in themselves. New techniques are only to be retained if they have been thoroughly tested, and have been found to be beneficial to quality.
- Balance is the byword for wines made according to tradition, and in keeping with the soil. Vineyard practices should be motivated by the never-ending search for equilibrium in the grapes. These must be brought to be crushed and pressed only when optimally ripe and healthy. The winemaker should weigh his options carefully in order to express the natural balance, without distorting it.
VITICULTURE Traditional soil cultivation
At Cheval-Blanc, vines are grown according to the time-honoured tradition of the finest Bordeaux great growths. .
The golden rule is to avoid chemical herbicides, and to rely on the quatre façons . This means using two in-depth unearthing operations, and two earthing-up operations. In the spring, mechanised ploughing between the vines is finished off by hand.
As the harvest approaches, surface cultivation of the soil (with harrows or disk harrows) slows down, to prevent rainwater from seeping into the soil and swelling the grapes.
New methods are nevertheless examined with great attention.
For instance, grass was left to grow between the vines on a small plot to see if this would be beneficial to the wine. As it turned out, this did not prove useful enough to change the traditional way things are done at Cheval-Blanc.
Strict control of yields
Yields at Cheval-Blanc need to be quite low in order for the "terroir" or specific soil, microclimate, etc. to be expressed fully in the wine. The estate's theoretical limit has been set at 40 hectolitres per hectare for all grape varieties.
The high average age of the vines, which naturally encourages low production, combined with a certain number of vineyard practices, ensure that low yields will be obtained.
Minimal use of fertilisers also has a role to play. The aim is to replace only that organic matter which has decomposed and to provide the vines with just enough nourishment. Most of the fertiliser used is organic, with a low nitrogen content (peat, conifer bark, pomace, etc.). Chemical fertiliser is only used for specific, isolated types of mineral deficiency.
Root stock from the "Riparia" family has also been introduced at Cheval-Blanc, further helping to keep yields down.
Severe pruning, using the Guyot Simple method, is an important means of controlling production. The "long cane" never has more than 4 to 6 buds. The average is 7 buds per vine, in function of the vigour. This amounts to 40,000 buds per hectare/16,200 per acre.
All of these activities are natural ways of concentrating flavour and richness in the wine. In great years, however, they are insufficient. For such vintages, thinning out is done as well. This takes place in July, after detailed analysis shows which parcels are otherwise most likely to overproduce. Young vines and Merlot vines are those which are usually concerned.
Intelligent ways of protecting the vineyards
At Cheval-Blanc, the quest for producing impeccable wine grapes is based on a twofold ecological rationale : ending up with top-quality fruit to make the finest possible wine, and respecting the environment.
Spraying is not carried out systematically and the use of the most harmless insecticides or mite-killing sprays, kept to a strict minimum (or even eliminated altogether), illustrates this approach.
As for insecticides, the use of only slightly toxic sprays has encouraged the reappearance of predator red spiders. This return to a natural equilibrium means that it is no longer necessary to use mite-killer.
In a similar vein, the recent use of the "sexual confusion process"5 should result in the total disuse of insecticides.
However, fungicides remain absolutely necessary due to the natural fragility of the selected vines. Spraying has been greatly limited at Cheval-Blanc thanks to careful analysis of weather patterns and "modelling"6. Furthermore, the least toxic fungicides on the market are used.
The vintage
Ageing potential, and the wine's full expression of the soil, call for perfect ripeness in the grapes. Setting the date to start picking is thus of primary importance.
At Cheval-Blanc, each and every vineyard parcel is very closely monitored. The grapes are analysed with increasing regularity as the harvest nears in order to plan picking with utmost precision. The experienced team of vintage workers is quick and flexible to be able to adapt to any situation.
The grapes are brought to the cellar in crates with holes in the sides to avoid premature crushing. There, they are closely examined by members of the permanent staff, on a sorting table which also has holes so as not to bruise the grapes. Any juice that does run off, which tends to be diluted by the dew, is not used.
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