2003 Château du Grand Bos, Bordeaux, France, Graves

The Graves are the only wines to bear the name of the soil that feeds them.

Quality domain of 42 hectares. Twenty hectares are reserved for a pine forest but also chestnut and various oaks. Red grape vine occupies 16 hectares, 4 hectares are occupied by white.

All plots are spread over large gravel mounds. The soils of this region are made on the surface of large old grave, placed on a basement of siliceous clay. Deep in the base you can find limestone. The layer of pebbles is highly permeable, allowing water to flow to the layers of siliceous clay-marl and lower tertiary limestone bedrock. Throughout the vegetative cycle these pebbles contribute to the maturation reflecting sunlight and keeping some heat at night. The transfer of the fermented juice is done by gravity, without the use of pumps.

After 12 to 18 months of aging, a final assembly is carried out which will be followed by bottling. The viticulture is traditional in donning and doffing with multiple ways in the row and between rows, without chemical weed control, with a search for low yields and harvested at perfect maturity after a rigorous selection process.

The red grape varieties consists of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, average age of 33 years, 16 hectares with 5600 vines / hectare. The yield is 40 to 47 hl / Ha.