Château de Camensac: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château de Camensac are on a gravelly elevation in the commune of Saint-Laurent-Médoc, in the Haut-Médoc appellation, sitting almost contiguous with the vineyards of St Julien. To the east, beyond a copse of trees, lie the vineyards of Château Lagrange. It is only the most eastern section of the vineyard, the few parcels that lie east of the railway line (the Lagrange Haut and Lagrange Bas parcels), that touch the boundary though; most of the Haut-Médoc–St Julien boundary line runs along the edge of the grounds of Château Belgrave, which sits directly to the north. To the west the ground slopes away dramatically, down to the vineyards of Château La Tour Carnet. The ground also slopes away to the south, although here it gives way to the marais, the marshy scrubland that borders the Chenal du Milieu, one of the major drainage channels that runs west-east here, towards the Gironde.
On an estate covering 150 hectares there are 86 hectares of vineyard in production, the remainder of the estate dedicated to woodland and pasture. At the highest point – which is along the north-eastern edge of the estate – the vines sit at an altitude of 23 metres above sea level. Here the soils have the gravelly substance that is typical of the Médoc, so often said to be Günzian but in truth many such gravel beds have a more recent origin, having been deposited during the Mindel and Riss interglacial periods. Further down the slope, towards the western and southern edge of the vineyard, the gravel peters out, revealing the limestone bedrock with a superficial covering of clay.
Near the eastern boundary there are also some sandy gravels, and more of the clay and limestone in the Lagrange parcels. The soils determine to some extent which varieties are planted where; the majority of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon, while Merlot tends to be concentrated on the clay and limestone parcels next to Château Lagrange or next to the marais, with only one or two on the lesser gravel plots.
