Château Labat: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Labat and Château Caronne-Sainte-Gemme lie directly to the west of Château Lanessan, the two separated only by the course of the Fossé de Creychac. This drainage ditch flows into the Chenal du Milieu, just to the north; this is one of the Médoc’s most important drainage channels, flowing directly east until it empties into the Gironde. To the north of Château Labat and Château Caronne-Sainte-Gemme, on the far side of the aforementioned chenal, can be found the vineyards of Château Lagrange and Château Camensac, two classed growth neighbours (well, near-neighbours). Otherwise the vineyards are surrounded, around the chenal, to the west and to the south, by woodland and pasture, the latter sometimes bearing the ghostly imprint of some long-lost vineyard.
The vineyard of Château Labat has contracted somewhat over the years, from 10 hectares a few decades ago to just 7.8 hectares today. The vines are positioned at the western end of the Château Caronne-Sainte-Gemme vineyard, almost in front of that château. The land slopes down to the west, and it is the vines on the lower part that have disappeared. The lower section was abandoned, and is now being absorbed into the hamlet of Labat, its land claimed by houses or by the woodland which encroaches from the north.
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