Total
area: 8.7 ha
6.7
ha Graves red
2
ha Graves white
Grape
varieties:
Graves
red
65%
Merlot
30%
Cabernet Sauvignon
5%
Petit Verdot
Graves
white
55%
Sémillon
30%
Sauvignon
10%
Sauvignon Gris
5%
Muscadelle
VINEYARD
WORK
The
preservation of our grape vines is ensured through year-long tillage.
No form of chemical weeding is used. It is important to aerate the
soil and to encourage deep root growth for a strong vine plant.
The
size of the vine is controlled in order to limit the number of grape
clusters per vine plant and thus increase their density. The mixed
Guyot pruning method is used to achieve this.
The
vineyard is maintained by sustainable viticulture, meaning that
treatments against powdery mildew, downy mildew and other diseases or
insects are used according to climatic conditions and level of pest
pressure on the plant without harming the environment or native
wildlife.
Environmentally-friendly
harvesting methods such as leaf thinning and green harvesting
(removal of clusters from overloaded vine plants) are carried out to
obtain better grape maturity and therefore a higher concentration of
sugar.
VINIFICATION
AND AGEING
Graves
white
The
grapes are carefully hand-harvested and gently pressed using a
pneumatic press. After the grape juice settles, the must begins to
ferment in vats designed to ensure temperature control. The
fermentation process is then completed in 40% new barrels.
When
all the sugar has been converted, the fermentation process ends and
“fine lees” settle at the bottom of the barrel. A long ageing
process of 9 to 10 months then begins in the cask. During this time,
the fine lees are stirred regularly in order to put them back into
suspension for optimal richness.
Graves
red
The
harvest, obtained by hand or by machine, is taken to a sorting table
where only the good grapes are kept. After de-stemming and crushing,
the grapes are sent by auger to the vinification vats. These vats are
made of stainless steel and contain the crushed grapes soaking in
their juice. A 4 to 5 week period of fermentation and maceration
begins in the vats, which are thermo-regulated for optimal extraction
of the grape skin’s colour and tannin. Work is then carried out
daily to ensure that a regular pump-over process. This process
involves stirring the must at the bottom of the vat and “wetting”
the solid parts (skin) that float. Once the maceration is complete,
the wine is “racked” or run off, then natural malolactic
fermentation (natural de-acidification by bacteria) is done. After
assembling the different grape varieties and the best produce, the
Château Jouvente wine is aged for 12 months in 25% new barrels.