Winter

Our vineyard team, each member of which cares for an average of 40 hectares of vines, regards the year as beginning in the winter, as soon as the previous season’s leaves fall and dormancy commences.

The first operation to be tackled is pruning. The hard work is done mechanically with the sharp blades of an over-the-row barrel pruner. This is followed up manually to ensure that approximately 46 buds are left on each Cabernet vine. Later in the season these will produce 60 bunches of grapes that eventually yield five bottles of outstanding wine per vine.

Cabernet Sauvignon, planted at a density of 1,700 vines per hectare, is our major variety, accounting for slightly more than half the vineyards (55%). Other red varieties increase this proportion to over three-quarters (78%), while white varieties, principally Sauvignon Blanc, account for the remaining near-quarter (22%).

After pruning, the severed canes are mulched, and return to the soil. Modest amounts of other fertilisers, such as guano (bat droppings), are applied to prepare the vines for their forthcoming growing season.