Château Lalande-Borie: Vineyards
The cellars of Château Lalande-Borie lie at the back of the village of Beychevelle, which sits almost as a gateway to the appellation as you approach it from the south, along the D2. Its nearest neighbour is therefore unsurprisingly Château Beychevelle, while just to the south is Château Gruaud-Larose. To the west, of course, is Château Lagrange, now fully recovered following the 20th-century Cendoya decline. To the north is one of the Médoc’s many drainage channels which runs parallel to the Allée Ronald Barton, on the far side of which lie Château Léoville-Barton and Château Talbot.
The vineyard has grown in size somewhat under the direction of the Borie family, so there are now 22 hectares of vines here. The terroir is typical of the region, with lighter gravel at the surface, and beneath that more gravel and clay. The vines planted are 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, established at a density of 8,500 vines per hectare. In the vineyard the work is traditional, with no adherence to certified organic or biodynamic methods. Much of the work is done by hand, including leaf-thinning and green-harvesting as required. As noted in my history of the estate, there are quite a lot of young vines here.
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