| Cheval Blanc 2003 • December 2004 | CHEVAL BLANC - 1st Great Classified Growth “A”
2003 Vintage
- Surface area :
37 hectares (91.39 acres)
- Density of plantation :
6,000 to 7,700 plants per hectare
- Soil types :
Alluvium from the Isle river, made up of gravel, clay and sand.
- Grape varieties :
- 58% Cabernet Franc
- 42% Merlot
- Average age of the vines :
42 years
- Vineyard management :
Single and Double Guyot pruning, trellising in three different stages, ratio canopy height/distance between rows : 0.8.
De-budding, de-suckering, removing of lateral shoots.
Manual picking with three sortings for selection.
- Growing season and weather conditions :
A very hot, dry year.
- Bud-break : Merlot, the 25th March – Cabernet Franc, the 29th March
- Flowering : Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the 26th May
- Colour-change : Merlot, the 25th July – Cabernet Franc, the 30th July
- Constitution of the grapes :
Small, sweet berries, not very acid (a low malic acid content)
- Harvest :
From the 1st to the 18th September (the earliest harvest at Cheval Blanc for 110 years).
- Yield :
30 hectolitres per hectare
- Vinification :
A strict plot by plot vinification.
A vatting period of three weeks in temperature controlled, concrete and stainless steel vats.
Malo-lactic fermentation in vat.
Traditional vinification.
- Ageing :
- 16 to 18 months for the first wine
- 12 months for the second wine
Ageing in 100% new barrels. Racking every three months, using a bellow pump. Fining with egg whites.
- Blending :
Our blends have not yet been finalised, but bearing in mind the weather conditions, the Cabernet Franc is likely to be in higher proportion.
- Owners :
M. Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère
- Managing Director :
M. Pierre Lurton
- Brands :
Château Cheval Blanc
Le Petit Cheval
- Contact :
Société civile du Château Cheval Blanc – 33330 Saint-Émilion
Tel : +33 (0)5 57 55 55 55 – Fax : +33 (0)5 57 55 55 50
Website : www.château-chevalblanc.com - E-Mail : contact@château-chevalblanc.com
| |
|
Mirrors 
Previous
page
