Viticulture

After the harvest, a mix of grass and legume seeds are sewn in between the rows and begin to grow. During winter, these inter-row crops are ‘flattened and rolled’. Withered flowers, leaves and stems will produce green fertilizer to nourish and maintain the life of the soil.

Although we no longer plough our soils thanks to the vegetal cover, we do practice light earthing and unearthing of a strip of soil of 30 cm below each vine. This gentle practice maintains a microclimate which promotes the health of the vine as well as the ripening of the grapes.

Flowering, which happens between the end of May and beginning of June, is closely scrutinised; the flowers have to blossom simultaneously so that the grapes reach maturity at the same time. At the moment of flowering, vine topping is carried out to shorten the shoots and limit their upward growth. This helps to aerate the vine and increase the penetration of the sun’s rays.

Little by little, the berries get larger and then touch each other. At this point, an extremely crucial stage in the vine’s cycle occurs: the closing of the cluster. At the beginning of August, within the space of a few days, new life pours through each berry: this is ‘veraison’, the sudden alchemy when the grapes take on colour and develop other important components. This is when the Cheval Blanc technicians have to be particularly vigilant: ‘veraison’ and the end of the vine’s growth must happen simultaneously.

Once ‘veraison’ is completed, another green harvest is carried out within each plot to ensure the remaining bunches are all at the same stage of ripeness. This time, the unripe bunches still undergoing the process of ‘veraison’ are removed so that the harvest will be homogenous with only grapes that have reached the perfect stage of maturity.

In August, the vine stems turn into wood. The veins transform to red then brown; this is cold-hardening. The grapes become fragile so the wine growers limit their movement amongst the vines.  After the vineyards have been hoed mid-summer, work on the soil is completed. The grasses are allowed to grow; they will absorb water instead of the vines. This creates hydric stress which will enhance the tannic content of the grapes.

From the beginning of September, measurements are taken on a daily basis. Each morning, Cheval Blanc’s head of cultivation and technical director walk through the vineyards tasting the grapes to assess the three levels of maturation. Together, they analyse the meteorological data and compare the different parameters: aromas, acidity, tannins. The maturity has to be exactly right accross every one of the domain’s 56 plots. All the work undertaken throughout the year hangs in the balance at this moment: each plot will only be harvested once optimum maturity has been reached. If one of them doesn’t meet the strict criteria, the grapes will not be used for the grand cru blend. The maturity of the grape, skin, pips; everything must be ‘al dente’.

The process usually takes about ten days spread out over a month more or less. The first selection is made in the vineyard by the pickers. They are familiar with the rigorous criteria of the domain and put aside any bunches which appear to be sub-quality. The second selection takes place at the selection table where four people carefully examine the contents of each crate, inspecting bunch by bunch. At the end of the table about ten people carry out a final check on the individual berries once the de-stemmer has removed the stalks. Any berries that are too green, pink or are withered are removed; only fruit in perfect condition is retained.