Sound, Daring Choices

The soils were constantly worked to maintain a maximum of moisture. Leaf thinning, rarely as precise as it was for this vintage, was carried out only on the eastern and northern slopes to allow the vines to benefit from the gentler morning light.
The process was also adapted to the specific needs of each grape variety: more sensitive to heat, the Cabernet Sauvignon vines underwent lighter leaf thinning than the Merlot.

Finally, the start of the harvest on September 7 was as early as it was audacious. But it was a choice that proved critical. By September 10-11, we had already harvested the twenty-eight hectares of our most fragile Merlot vines—those planted on gravel soils—thanks to the efficiency of our Spanish harvesters, when we observed an increase in potential alcohol levels of 1° in our Merlot planted on clay soils.
A later start to harvest would most likely have jeopardized the balance of our Merlot planted on gravel and the maturity levels of those planted on clay.

Ultimately, experience and sensitivity remained the guiding principles of this very intense vintage.