A terroir ennobled by Man
Born of the bond between a great terroir and the people who have cultivated it since Roman days, the Bordeaux vineyard boasts a diversity reflected in the number of its different appellations. Within that patchwork, a hierarchy of quality has emerged over the years, endorsed by successive classifications, with the Grands Crus at the apex.
A many-faceted terroir
A privileged location…
Equidistant between the North Pole and the equator, the 45th parallel offers a climate universally acknowledged as being ideal for the six thousand or so winegrowing estates of the Bordeaux region. Enhanced by the additional advantages of the nearby ocean and high-quality soil, its balanced climate makes the Bordeaux terroir naturally well-suited to vinegrowing.
A distinctive varietal mix…
In harmony with these eminently favourable characteristics, the vineyard’s dominant grape varieties – Cabernets and Merlot for the red wines, Sauvignon and Semillon for the dry and sweet whites – regularly yield grapes that have slowly reached perfect maturity.
Respect for the fruit…
All these natural advantages reach their culmination in the winery and in the making of fine wines. In Bordeaux, a fine wine is first of all great fruit, i.e. the natural expression of a great terroir, reflected in a simple winemaking process that has no need of artifice… The result is something unique, the revelation of that extra touch of soul, something more than the mere expression of a grape, which comes from the depths of the earth… That is the distinction of a Grand Cru.
A unique hallmark
Ancestral expertise…
The long history of Bordeaux wine has been woven from the transmission of ancestral expertise, in both vineyard and winery, of which the Grands Crus are the most faithful custodians. It is the slow nurturing of that potential that has helped to refine the conditions that give rise to excellence. Having started out growing a variety of crops, the local people patiently traced the outlines of the best winegrowing terroirs, at the same time refining the varietal mix. More recently, new vineyard practices have helped to ensure that the grapes reach optimum maturity, evening out variations in the quality of the crop, vintage after vintage.
A constant quest…
Continuing a long-standing tradition, that quest for balance has its roots in constant questioning and a constant desire to do better. The kind of high-level vinegrowing found at Grand Cru estates involves a host of practices and small actions, often manual, whose ever-increasing precision is shaped by the imperatives of craft-based methods that remain as true to nature as possible. Echoed in the winery, that approach, based on respect for the fruit, reaches its full expression in a distinctive blend that aims to reflect the truth of the terroir.
Shared passion…
Over and above the progress of a constantly evolving history, the Grand Cru estates have successfully maintained an authentic tradition of welcome and of festive gatherings. Hosted by winegrowers with a passion for what they do, each such occasion perpetuates a sense of sharing that has always been associated with the world of wine.
