Château Léoville-Barton: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Léoville-Barton lie close to the Gironde, sandwiched between the waters of the estuary to the east, and the huge expanse of vineyards belonging to Château Talbot inland, to the west. To the north lies Le Petit Clos, vineyards in the possession of Château Léoville-Las-Cases, as well as the village of St-Julien-Beychevelle. To the south are the vineyards of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, among others. In total there are 51 hectares planted and in production.
The vineyards have a typical St Julien terroir of gravelly soils over deeper clay. The vines are 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, the remainder being 23% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The proportion of the vineyard planted to the last of these three varieties has been scaled back in recent years, with a little climb in the percentage of the vineyard dedicated to the first two varieties. There are a significant proportion of old vines, although the average age of the vines overall is approximately 38 years. Planting density is 9,100 vines per hectare, the vines pruned using the Guyot double method, adapted according to the vigour of each vine.
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