Enclos Tourmaline: Vineyards
As indicated in my profile Enclos Tourmaline comprises three parcels, and although the team here say there are just 1 hectare of vines in total, drawing the estate out on maps the domaine looks to be closer to 1.2 hectares (a small difference, but in the heart of Pomerol every row and vine counts). Whichever of these figures you take, there is one fact that is undeniable; this is a micro-domaine, and surely the smallest in the Pomerol appellation.
The first parcel lies opposite Château Clinet, in the lieu-dit of Les Grandes Vignes, and covers about 0.49 hectares. The soils here lend an air of prestige to the estate, being rich in blue clay, words which of course always conjure up images of Petrus. The clay lies buried here beneath a more superficial clay-limestone layer.
Of the other two parcels only one makes an appreciable contribution to the blend. This is a 0.7-hectare parcel in the lieu-dit of Tropchaud, very close to the village of Pomerol itself and to the new Château La Fleur-Pétrus. The third parcel is a little more than a dot, a small garden of vines totalling just 0.05 hectares (well, I did say every row counts) associated with a small maison situated between Château Trotanoy and Château Le Pin, in the lieu-dit of Groupey.
