Discover the Château l’Enclos
A great wine, it’s the combination of the terroir, the work, and the human.U
Pineuilh
History of Château l’Enclos
Built during the 17th century, Château L’Enclos is certainly one of the most beautiful of its appellation. It represents the wealth and the elegance of the region’s historical and cultural heritage.
The structure was built in the center of the property. 7 hectares were around the castle and 16 others were on the hillsides of Pineuilh and Saint-André-et-Appelles.
“A la française”, the castle is composed of a main building that dates back from the 17th century, surrounded by two big towers, and some splendid vaulted caves
In the West flank, the winery dates from the 18th century and was built perpendicularly to the castle. The East flank opens on a terrace, and a park which was totally redesigned in 2003. Facing the vineyard, in the South, the orangery is closed to the winery.
In the North, the courtyard of honor opens on a large alley of linden and plane trees, bordered by Merlot and Cabernet Franc parcels.
The edifice faces an old vineyard which is located in the production zone of Entre-Deux- Mers. The wines of the castle have the appellation AOC Sainte-Foy Bordeaux (AOC Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux since the vintage 2016). The property is located 25 kilometers from Saint-Emilion, in the extreme east of Bordeaux region.
Château L’Enclos Triple A, the most famous wine of the property, refers to the ratings in the financial world, an allusion to the profession of the previous owner who created this brand and registered it at the administration. The three “A” mean « Assemblage, Authentique, Ad’hoc » translated by “blending, authentic, ad’hoc”.
Clay-limestone, sandy-clay and boulbènes soils.
The vineyard
Appellations :
The terroir
Geographic location: South-East of Bordeaux vineyard.
The terroir is compound of parcels in majority on the hillsides and surrounding high points, with soils originated from lacustrian limestone of Castillon, hard, with magnesium, clays of good quality and some parts rich in oxidized iron. The entire topography is marked by a good drainage.
These hot and well sanitized soils initiate rich aromas to the wines, and also provide a harvest of quality, avoiding the hazards of the vintage.
The vines of Château l’Enclos
The surface of the vines has rose to 23 hectares, including in particular 2 hectares of white vines composed of Sémillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle, aged of more than 30 years. The planting density is 5 000 vines per hectare. The leaf area is increased. The pruning is shortened and gradually goes to double Guyot.
Château L’Enclos hopes that the efforts in environmental matters are recognized and appreciated in the environment field with the certification of the institutions. The institution “AREA” (Agriculture Respectueuse de l’Environnement en Aquitaine) is composed of measures to answer to the questions about fertilization, biosecurity, phytosanitary products, effluents plants, biodiversity, energy and water. In September 2018, Château L’Enclos obtained the certification “HVE” (High Environmental Value) corresponding to the level 3 of the AREA. This comes to reward the work realized in this field.
The works on the vines
The yields are strongly reduced, between 40 and 45 hl per hectare, by a drastic debudding, possibly completed by green harvesting and sodding of the rows. The vineyard is lead in a supervised way to an organic orientation. The best maturation is searched by optimizing the dates of the harvest of the parcels. The harvest is done in part manually, to select the best grapes, and the rest is done mechanically.
The winemaking
The winemaking is made in fermentation stainless steel tanks, frustoconical in thermoregulation.
The aging of the wine ends in French barrel oaks, until 12 months, according to the vintages. The bottling is made in the property.
