Château de la Brunette - Côtes de Bourg

Five generations of wine growers have preceded Gil and Dorota Lagarde in their passion for working the land and growing their own vine. However, their gamble on the future was not won in advance, nor that on taking up the family property, because the first calling of the couple had been teaching for several years. Only at the beginning of the nineties was Gil - grandson and only son to keen vine growers - confronted with an essential choice : selling the property and forgetting the efforts of his forefathers, or resuming their work as craftsmen of the vine. He chose to resume his ancestors' activity, and thus began an adventure which has been very gratifying to both of us for the last fifteen years !
Located at the door of the appellation "Côtes de Bourg", on the foothills of a clayey and chalky slope, the "Château de la Brunette" is well situated, facing due south, and gets a lot of sunshine.

Its five unbroken hectares are planted with merlot (70%), malbec (15%) and cabernet sauvignon (15%). Old vines (which are over 60 years old !) make half of the vineyard, and the oldest plot was planted in 1932. The "Château de la Brunette" 's vines are old yet sturdy, as they are seen to with traditional farming methods and as we never use synthetic chemicals. Our vines produce silky and fruity wines which you can keep in your cellar for a long time very easily.

BIO
Our commitment to organic wine

As soon as we started growing wine, we took some time to think about the use and relevance of chemicals in our vineyard. We worked on our wines in the so-called " reasoned " way during a few years, but soon decided that herbicides and pesticides were quite unnecessary. We therefore submitted ourselves to a very strict control as early as 1999, doing our best to meet the " ECOCERT " requirements (an independent body that guarantees we abide by organic agriculture). You thus may be certain that both our grapes and wines are organic.

Herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, as well as any synthetic plant-care product entering and modifying the vine, have been replaced by ploughing, treating the plants with organic products (sulphur and copper), powdering with clay and sea limestone and spraying with macerated horsetails, ferns and nettles.

Both our grapes and wines are organic !

Situé à l'entrée de l'appellation des Côtes de Bourg, sur les premiers contreforts d'un coteau argilo-calcaire, le "Château de la Brunette" bénéficie d'une exposition plein sud et d'un ensoleillement exceptionnel.

D'un seul tenant, les cinq hectares du domaine sont plantés de merlot (70%), de malbec (15%) et de cabernet sauvignon (15%). Les vieilles vignes (de plus de 60 ans !) composent la moitié du vignoble et la parcelle la plus ancienne a été plantée en 1932. Anciennes mais vigoureuses, car entretenues de manière exclusivement culturale et sans aucun apport de produits chimiques de synthèse, les vignes du " Château de la Brunette " produisent des vins soyeux, fruités et munis d'un très bon potentiel de garde.

ENGAGEMENT EN CULTURE BIOLOGIQUE

Nouveaux vignerons, nous avons amorcé dès la première année de notre installation une réflexion sur la pertinence de l'emploi des produits chimiques dans la vigne. Après quelques années de pratique de viticulture dite " raisonnée ", la nécessité de travailler sans herbicides ni pesticides s'est imposée rapidement. Ainsi dès 1999, nous avons décidé de nous soumettre au contrôle très strict du cahier des charges de l'Agriculture Biologique certifié par un organisme indépendant, " ECOCERT ", qui garantit la qualité bio de nos raisins.

Ainsi le trio "herbicides- pesticides -fongicides " ainsi que tout autre produit phyto -sanitaire de synthèse qui pénètre et modifie la plante, ont été remplacés par des labours, des traitements à base de produits naturels (soufre et cuivre), des poudrages d'argile et de calcaire marin et des pulvérisations de macération de prèles, fougères et orties.
Nos raisins sont bio et nos vins aussi !

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