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La Mondiale is in charge of running Château Larmande, there were plans to set up a new
fermenting room.
With this new and magnificent production facility officially opened in April 2004, Château
Larmande has recovered the “trail-blazer” spirit established by Jean Meneret, the long-time
owner of this Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé.
The team brought together for this project wanted to design a cutting-edge fermenting room
combining the qualities of two traditional materials, i.e. the thermal inertia of concrete and the
impeccable cleanliness of stainless steel.
After a year of research, an ideal compromise was reached in the form of self-contained,
insulated stainless steel parallelepiped vats combining all the desired factors:
- respect for the terroir, with the separate vinification of different plots using 16 vats
with capacities ranging from 74 to 136 hectolitres;
- vinification optimisation, thanks to large lids designed to make the most of the marc,
in particular through pigeage (submerging the cap into the fermenting wine);
- perfect insulation, achieved by arranging the temperature-controlled vats in a
battery. Vats are double-walled, and the gap is filled with a natural insulator in the form of
vermiculite granules. This natural material is free of any pollution source.
The ornate outer surfaces of these stainless steel vats lend style to the cellar, which is
crowned with walkways designed by a wrought iron craftsman.
Press Contact :
Caroline Rihouet
[email protected]
tel : 05.57.24.71.41 - fax : 05.57.74.42.80
mobile : 06.12.94.22.60
LARMANDE,
ONE OF SAINT-EMILION’S OLDEST ESTATES
Château Larmande is one of the oldest wine estates of Saint-Emilion.
The town's archives record its existence from 1585 (it is said that the famous local Jurat
magistrates held sessions there). Early last century, the estate was given as a wedding gift to
Alice Capdemourlin and Fernand Meneret. Three generations of the family then worked on
the wine. In late 1990, Jean Meneret, Chairman and founder of the Association des Grands
Crus Classés de Saint Emilion, well-known in Bordeaux wine circles and responsible for
bringing the estate up to the highest level, sold Larmande to the La Mondiale insurance
group.
Since then, a great deal of work has gone in to bringing the estate to the forefront of the
international stage.
The vineyard has been extended to cover 25 hectares, 19 of which form one unbroken
stretch, and is today one of Saint-Emilion’s largest Grands Crus Classés estates.
LARMANDE,
TERROIRS AND VINEYARD
Located 1,200 metres from Saint-Emilion itself, the Larmande
vineyards are grown in a variety of soils:
-
15% clay-limestone, for power and finesse
-
70% ancient sands, for elegant wine with supple tannins
-
15% siliceous clay, for subtlety, delicacy and elegance
The vines are on average 30 years old.
The mix of grape varieties is as follows:
-
65% Merlot
-
30% Cabernet Franc
-
5% Cabernet Sauvignon
LARMANDE SINCE
2000
Its first objective is to create value from the Larmande terroir.
An audit of the estate was conducted to better define the various wine-growing areas. It
includes a full analysis of each plot of land in order to fully grasp the structure of the soil and
sub-soil, and the water and root systems. This data led to changes in soil working
practices on some plots, improvements to growing methods, the establishment of
grubbing-up and replanting plans, investigation into plot drainage, ditch clearing, etc.
All soil is worked at present. Grass cover on some plots is either total or in alternate rows,
depending on vigour, while the soil at the foot of the vine continues to be worked through
earthing up and unearthing.
Chemical herbicides are no longer used on the estate.
Vine diseases are fought using integrated management techniques involving targeted
treatment intended to reduce the environmental impact.
‘Green’ operations are carried out by hand and include de-budding, de-leafing and, since
2001, the removal of lateral shoots on all of the Cabernet Franc and some of the Merlot.
This last operation consists of removing laterals after flowering in order to significantly reduce
the sweet pepper flavour of Cabernet must.
The grapes are harvested by hand and collected in ventilated crates. A first selection takes
place during the harvest. Upon arrival at the vat cellar, each crate is weighed in order to
determine the yield from each plot.
The bunches of grapes pass over a first sorting table. They are then de-stemmed and, since
2002, drop onto a second sorting table. This table vibrates, and is used to remove any
berries that are not fully ripe and small pieces of stem that may still be present.
Since 2006, the berries have then passed through an air current to remove any stem
remnants or lighter particles, and they then drop into a crusher before being delicately sent
on to the vats.
The estate still uses traditional vinification techniques, and the wine is divided up according
to individual plots. Vats containing grapes grown in sandy soils will undergo gentle extraction
out of respect for the fruit and the finesse of this type of terroir. Vats containing grapes grown
in clay soils will undergo a more thorough extraction, and will give the wine its structure.
Since 2003, the vat cellar has been equipped with 16 stainless steel parallelepiped vats with
insulating, temperature-controlling double walls. The vats capacities are 74, 82, 94 and 101
hectolitres, plus one holding 136 hectolitres. The vatting period lasts from three to four
weeks, depending on the vintage.
“All work carried out on the wine is done with a view to retaining the grapes' flavour; we aim
to produce a wine that is round on the palette and to preserve all the terroir’s elegance.”
Malolactic fermentation occurs partly in vats, and partly in barrels. Two thirds of the wine is
placed into new oak barrels, and the rest is placed into barrels from the previous vintage.
The barrels used come from eight different coopers to give the wine a greater complexity of
flavours. The wine develops differently depending on the cooper, as it is influenced by the
distinctive features of each type of oak and the craftsman's expertise.
The different batches of wine from each plot are kept separate throughout maturation, and
are only blended at the very end, immediately before bottling.
The wine is traditionally fined with egg white; protein in the egg white binds with cloudy
precipitates and drags them to the bottom of the vat or barrel. The wine is thus clarified,
stabilised and ready for bottling, approximately 18 months after the grape harvest. The
decision to fine the wine depends on the vintage; wine at the estate has not been fined since
2001.
The wine is bottled at the estate.
With average yields of between 35 hl/ha and 40 hl/ha, the estate produces some 80,000
bottles of Château Larmande - Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé and 15,000 bottles of Le
Cadet de Larmande - Saint Emilion Grand Cru.
Château Larmande Grand Cru Classé is sold in advance to wine merchants operating on the
Bordeaux market.