Owner / Operator : French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)

Director : Dominique Forget

Technical Manager : Matthew Arroyo

Consultant oenologists : Denis Dubourdieu and Valérie Lavigne

Marketing & Communication : Romain Baillou

A.O.C : Pessac-Léognan red

Area : 19 ha

Soil characteristics : Gravelly hilltop • Clay slope on a limestone base • Sand-clay zone

Grape varieties : 49% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot

Density of planting : 6500 to 9100 vines/ha

Management of vines :
-Double Guyot pruning -Traditional ploughing four times -Integrated production -Optimization of soil/plant balance -Rationalized canopy management -Manual harvests with successive selective harvests in crates

Vinification :
destemming, sorting table, crushing, manual punching down, rationalized pumping over, alcoholic fermentation between 25° and 28°C, maceration 26 days

Maturing : 12 months in French oak barrels, 1/3 new barrels

Average annual production : 40,000 bottles