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What
about winemaking at Carbonnieux ?
The
key to making the most of an estate such as ours is, as I
have said, careful management of individual vineyard plots.
This must be followed through in the cellar. Wine from each
plot must be fermented sepa-rately.
Repeated
tastings monitor the development of each vat and the role
it will play in the final blend.
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As for the white
wine, we changed our winemaking technology in the 1980s, and have
gradually fine-tuned our methods over the years.
We
systematically use skin contact before fermentation to bring out
many delicious aromas and flavours. The must is then left to settle
in vat, under constant control, until it reaches the desired level
of clarity.
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The
juice is run off into barrels where it stays until the end
of the ageing process, about 8 or 9 months after fermentation.
I might add that the wine is aged on the lees and stirred
regularly, to release all sorts of complex aromas from the
dead yeast.
As regards Chateau Carbonnieux' red wines, we feel it is best
to keep to relatively moderate fermentation temperatures (about
28°C), although we sometimes need to increase this to 32°C,
or even a bit more, while the wine is left on the skins. The
fermentation and maceration stages last from 25 to 30 days
on average.
We
have found this to be the very best solution. Fermentation
goes on unimpeded, and the yeast stays alive until the very
end. Furthermore, experience has shown us that this is the
best way to enhance aromas and produce the best possible quality.
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... Chateau Carbonnieux
now has 90 hectares of vineyards in a single block. The chateau
buildings have been fully renovated and, true to its origins, Carbonnieux
is once again a viable, well-managed estate.
Long
famous for its white wine, Carbonnieux has been in the unusual position
of producing both red and white Graves for several centuries. This
has made the chateau economically stable, and it is currently enjoying
another Golden Age.
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