VINEYARD AREA

59 Hectares of which 23 Hectares were selected for the production of the Chateau blend.

DATES OF HARVEST

27th of August to 30th of September.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

After a cold wet Winter, February brought mild sunny weather which continued through the Spring and resulted in an even bud-burst two weeks ahead of normal. The high temperatures and drought conditions which marked 2003 started in May and continued through the summer with temperatures regularly topping 40°. The parts of the vineyards with deeper soil resisted the drought well but the vines growing on the stony hillsides started to suffer from mid-July. We decided in late July to sacrifice 50% of the bunches on these vines to alleviate the stress and allow the remainder of the grapes to reach maturity. Harvest started on the 27th of August (a record at Vignelaure) and continued in ideal conditions until all the grapes were in.

SOIL

Limestone and clay mixed with gravel. The 59 Hectares of vineyard cover three distinct areas whose varying proportions of limestone, clay and gravel produce grapes with distinctly different characteristics.

GRAPE VARIETIES

Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache.

YIELD

For the vineyard as a whole: 25 Hl/Ha. For the parcels selected for the production of the Chateau blend the average yield was 18 Hl/Ha.

VINIFICATION

Grapes harvested by hand with strict selection in the field and again at the crusher. All grapes de-stemmed and lightly crushed. Varieties and parcels vinified separately with a different vinification program for each tank. Pre-fermentation cold maceration for several days. Specially selected yeasts for the different varieties to emphasise desired characteristics. Temperature-controlled fermentation in stain-less steel tanks for average seven days. Some tanks allowed to get up to 32°C for added extraction, others fermented cool at max 23° to keep fruit flavours and aromas. Post fermentation maceration for several weeks. After pressing off (and before malolactic fermentation) the wine was transferred to small oak barrels (one third new) - 70% French oak, 30% American oak. Malolactic fermentation took place in the small oak barrels in the summer of the year 2004. The wine was racked out of the barrels after 14 months. It was bottled without fining and with a very coarse (12 micron) filtration.

AGEING

Chateau Vignelaure 2003 may be drunk now but will continue to develop and improve in the bottle for at least ten years.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Wild game dishes. Poultry lamb and other red meats as grilled fillet of beef. But also with pintade, roasted fillet of pork, plump quail, and duck. To show the wines full potential it is a good idea to decant the wine before serving and serve in large glasses.