Château Fleur Cardinale: Vineyards
Château Fleur Cardinale is located on the limestone plateau close to the D243, directly east of the town of St Emilion. As already indicated, Château Valandraud and then Château de Pressac lie due south. Other near neighbours include Château Mangot which sits to the southeast, not too far from Château de Pressac.
Today the vineyard has grown to cover 23.5 hectares of the St Emilion appellation, divided between 49 parcels. The soils are typically clay over limestone, although soil surveys have identified seven different types and combinations of soil and subsoil, including some sections on deeper Calcaire à Astéries and some on Molasses du Fronsadais. The vines are planted at a density of 6,000 pieds per hectare, and the average age of the vineyard is 35 years. Today the proportion planted to Cabernet Sauvignon has contracted even further, at just 5%, with 75% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The Decoster family also have a 2.4-hectare parcel planted to white varieties, including Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. This is still a relatively new project, although it has already led to two new white cuvées joining the portfolio of wines made here.
For many years the approach to viticulture was reasoned, with no use of synthetic herbicides, and the occasional use of organic fertiliser, if required. The Decosters also planted with green cover, including fescue, on some plots. Recent years have seen this work take on greater importance; ecologically sound practices were embraced in vineyard and cellars, with new approaches to water use, effluent recycling and energy use, and the estate gained Haute Valeur Environnementale certification. In the vineyard there has been greater attention to detail biodiversity, with planting of hedgerows and fruit trees alongside the vines. The Decoster family joined with Reforest’Action, a group aimed at restoring forests, so that for every case of wine sold a tree is planted in Tanzania’s Usambara mountains.
