Château Caronne-Ste-Gemme: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Caronne-Ste-Gemme are located in the central Médoc, just to the south-east of Saint-Laurent-Médoc. They are situated inland of Château Lanessan, but not that far inland; head directly north from the vineyards, through the trees and across the Chenal du Milieu, the broad drainage channel that carries the groundwater of the Médoc peninsula to the Gironde, and you will quickly find yourself in the western peripheries of the St Julien appellation, where Château Lagrange awaits us. Just beyond the boundary we find three classed growth Haut-Médoc estates, namely Château Camensac, Château Belgrave and Château La Tour Carnet, all near neighbours. Château Caronne-Ste-Gemme is clearly in good company.
Until recently the property had 38 hectares of vines with the Haut-Médoc appellation, although following a redrawing of the appellation boundary in 2019 the vineyard has been expanded by 1.46 hectares, so there is now just less than 40 hectares of vines here. This vineyard sits on a plateau typical of the Médoc. At the eastern end there are soils of gravel, a resurgence of the St Julien gravel bed, which lie over an iron-rich clay-sandstone base. This part of the vineyard reaches an altitude of 22 metres above sea level, impressive for the Médoc peninsula. At the western end the soils take on a more sandy character, as you might expect, the transition from gravel to sand matching the same transition seem to the north, when moving from the vineyards of Château Lagrange in St Julien to Château Belgrave in the Haut-Médoc appellation.
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