Fronsac, a heritage
Charmed by this ancient historical wine region, with its high quality soils and renowned wines, the winegrowers have progressively restructured the 5 hectares of vineyards.
The vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of the Fronsadais region, in the village of Saint-Germain-de-la-Rivière, this exposure inducing an optimal maturity of the grapes.
The altitude of 40m above the Dordogne river enhances this phenomenon and protects the vineyard from spring frosts.
The clay-limestone with sandstone inclusions and some sandy-clay zones provides the wines with a remarkable concentration and freshness.
Vineyard works
The vines and the soils are pampered to produce qualitative and healthy grapes. Green manure is cultivated in autumn, to avoid runoff and to provide nutriments in spring and cover the soil in summer.
Thanks to the preserved biodiversity and biocontrol, insecticides are avoided. Many hedges and trees alongside the vineyard foster flora & fauna that help balancing the ecosystem.
Passionate about traditional techniques
Passionate about traditional techniques, the Schmid-Haguenin family acquires two draft horses: Saphir, the percheron gelding and Gitane the Belgian draft mare. These horses enable them to work the vines traditionally, without compacting the soil. In between to work sessions, Saphir and Gitane have a good time in their pastures.
Harvest and winemaking
Harvest is carried out by hand, by a team of professionals and regulars that select the healthy and ripe grapes.
After de-stemming, the grapes are sorted on a sorting belt, where other team members discard vegetal debris and damaged berries.
After a an ageing that is adapted to each cuvée, the wines are assembles according to the desired profile.