Château Balestard La Tonnelle: Vineyards
The estate, long ranked as grand cru classé (so in other words, if we consider that the premier grand cru classé estates are divided into levels A and B, about the third rung down) in the St Emilion classification, is situated on the eastern edge of the town of St Emilion, close to Château Soutard, Château La Couspaude and Château Villemaurine, at the upper end of the famous clay-limestone slopes and on the plateau.
The vineyards amount to 10.6 hectares. The vines planted are 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and have an average age of 33 years. Older sources indicate that there was once Malbec in the vineyard, and I assume this has since been replanted or grafted over to other varieties, most likely Merlot. The vines are pruned in the traditional double Guyot fashion, and the vineyard philosophy is one of viticulture raisonnée, limiting chemical treatments wherever possible. Weeds are discouraged and superficial roots are removed by working the soil.
