| Magdelaine 2003 • December 2004 | MAGDELAINE - 1st Great Classified Growth "B"
2003 Vintage
- Situation :
The plateau and the south-facing slope of Saint Emilion.
- Surface area :
10,8 hectares (26.67 acres)
- Density of plantation :
7,000 plants per hectare
- Grape varieties :
- 95% Merlot
- 5% Cabernet Franc
- Average age of the vineyard :
32 years
- Yield in 2003 :
26 hectolitres per hectare
- Vineyard management :
- Four ploughings of the soil
- Environmentally-friendly spray treatments
- Crop thinning
- Growing season :
- Bud-break on March 23rd
- Mid-flowering point on May 28th
- The flowering proved difficult because of the wide difference in temperature between the 23rd and the 24th May. The temperature in fact went from 31.5°C on the 23rd to 18.2°C on the 24th.
- Mid-colour change point was on July 28th.
- The colour change took place quickly thanks to the very hot weather in July and the rain that came with the storms.
The summer of 2003 will long be remembered for the heat-wave which hit the whole of France right through the month of August. Humidity was low, and the grapes ripened very quickly, gaining concentration in spectacular fashion. The fruit was picked perfectly ripe.
- Harvest :
A small early-ripening plot was picked first on September 7, 2003 ; however, the vineyard was really harvested on the 12th, 18th and 19th September.
Three sortings were carried out for each bunch :
- A mechanical sorting on a vibrating table
- A manual sorting on a conveyor belt
- A manual sorting on a vibrating table
This enabled us to obtain a crop of remarkable quality.
- Vinification :
The vinification was carried out in small-sized vats, allowing each parcel to be fermented separately.
The vatting periods lasted two weeks, so as to avoid over-extraction, with a minimum of aerated pump-overs so as not to damage the naturally fragile anthocyanins.
The malolactic fermentations finished at the end of October 2003.
- Ageing :
The ageing process began at the beginning of November, in barrels, (of which 40% were new), and in separate batches.
- Blending :
This has not taken place yet.
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