Bringing out the best qualities in the vineyard

At a time when almost everyone is asserting a terroir, the only way to really express this fully in wines is to bring out the best qualities in soils and use gentle methods that respect their natural balance.  

Fonroque has always produced excellent wines.  Seeking perfect ripeness had to be reconsidered fundamentally to ensure a harvest of ripe fruit whatever the weather conditions of the year.  

Recreating an environment that respects natural balances became an absolute priority at Fonroque.

As of 2001, Alain Moueix and his team began to set out the elements for careful analysis aimed at seeking to achieve balance in the terroir.

This is how a coordinated supervision of each plot began, knowing that this was a long and difficult task involving observation and analysis that would last for several years.

The outcome of this overall study was the decision to implement organic and biodynamic growing methods which enable the cycles of life in the soil to be preserved durably.

As soon as management of the estate was taken over, a programme to restructure the vineyard was established over a period of 10 years.  A request for Organic Viticulture certification was launched in 2003 and subsequently the 2006 harvest was certified “AB” (Agriculture Biologique - Organic Agriculture/Viticulture).

Concurrently and gradually, biodynamic methods were also started and implemented throughout the vineyard as of 2004.  Fonroque joined the Association of Winegrowers using

Biodynamic methods “BIODYVIN” as of 2005.

To achieve these results, considerable means were invested in the vineyard as well as in the vat house and wine storehouse:

In the vineyard:

• Observation of the soils to gain a better understanding of the terroir and how the vine's growth functions
• Drainage in places where soil type changes
• 1 700 m of pathway scraped to encourage water on slopes to run off naturally
• Winegrowing equipment and machinery updated to ensure the best care for the vines 
• A process of analysis launched to consider passing the estate over to biodynamic growing methods 
• Green harvesting on vines which would produce an imbalanced harvest, which is now decreasingly frequent
• Leaf-thinning done in June to improve the micro-climate around the grape bunches
• The harvest is now sorted first on a vibrating table and then on a normal sorting table
• “Environmentally-friendly winegrowing” methods established, resulting in the collection of all waste on the estate (recycling, organic waste gathered and turned into compost, use of water from a well, plastic and cardboard sent to the waste reception centre, etc...).
  

In the vat house and wine storehouse:

• Thermoregulation fitted in vats
• Air-conditioning installed in the first-year wine storehouse for malo-lactic fermentations in barrels
• Barrel racking done with bellows (rather than a pump), in the pure tradition of fine wines.