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85 Pessac-Léognan AC 2008
Château Pont Saint-MartinGrape:80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (13% alc.)
Organic viticulture, low yields from 25 year old vines and meticulous winemaking are behind this excellent Pessac-Léognan. It has the weight of fruit and density that only fine wines possess, yet it is supple, harmonious and not over extracted, with a notable stony, mineral element. For drinking now to 2015.
Technical Information Winemaker: Bernard Fontaine Location: Léognan Size of
domaine:3½ hectares Grape: 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. 25 year old vines. 7,700 vines per hectare. Massale selection. Terroir: 80cm of gravel and sandy topsoil with a clay sub-strata, between the grand cru classé Château Smith Haute-Lafitte and Château Larrivet Haut Brion (on the plateau of Martillac). South-facing. Viticulture: Organic – no herbicides or pesticides. The vineyard is ploughed 100% in autumn and also spring. Debud and carry out vendanges en vert when necessary. Also leaf-thin right at start of September to aid ventilation and ripening. Use Bordeaux mix against oidium. Hand-harvest. The grapes are taken to the winery in small shallow crates to prevent any spoilage/oxidation. Yield 35 hectos per hectare on average (52 is permitted for the appellation). Vinification: Destalked 100%. Fermentation takes place in small 30 hectolitre temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. These are equipped with auto-pigeage. Max temperature of fermentation is 28°C. The fermentation takes 20-25 days on average. The grapes are pressed by pneumatic press; the first and second pressing are separated and aged apart. Transferred into 225ltr barrels, 50% new and 50% 1 year old. The malolactics are completed naturally in barrel. The merlot and cabernet are assembled at the first racking in June. Fining and filtration are judged by trials on a year to year basis. If fine use egg whites and if filter, a light filtration by kieselghur. Bottled after 17 months. Press: