Château Le Chatelet: Vineyards
As I have indicated in my introductory paragraphs Château Le Chatelet is situated on the plateau to the west of St Emilion, in the lieu-dit of he same name. It lies almost equidistant between the troglodytic church at the heart of the town and the church of St Martin de Mazerat which overlooks Château Angélus, and it is surrounded by highly regarded and famous names, including the aforementioned Château Beau-Séjour Bécot and Clos Fourtet as well as Château Les Grandes Murailles in the shadow of the ruins of the town’s Dominican monastery (pictured below), but also Château Franc-Mayne to the northwest, Château Grand-Pontet to the north, and of course Château Beauséjour and Château Canon to the south.
Underfoot there are clay and limestone soils here, on gentle slopes facing the town of St Emilion itself, with just 3.18 hectares of vines. The varieties are in the usual ratio, with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, rooted at a density between 6,600 and 8,000 vines per hectare. The vines are pruned in the Guyot double system, the soil between the rows is worked, and the vineyard work such as bud-removal and leaf-stripping is carried out by hand. The overarching philosophy in the vineyard is raisonnée rather than organic or biodynamic.
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