Château Magdelaine: Vineyards
Today the vineyards of Château Magdelaine have been absorbed into those of Château Bélair-Monange, and so this examination of the vineyards and winemaking is purely historical.
The vineyards of Château Magdelaine covered 10.5 hectares, and were situated close to the town of St Emilion on the edge of the Saint Martin plateau, with 6 hectares on the classic limestone terroir of the upper parts, the balance situated on the slopes running down towards the Dordogne, an area which of course features more clay. Many of the vines surrounded the château itself, an elegant two-storey house.
As described in my profile, the majority of the vines on the estate were planted in 1976, although some of those planted in 1921 survived through to the modern era, having escaped the deathly frost.
The vineyard was dominated by Merlot, this variety having accounted for 90% oft he vineyard. The balancing 10% was Cabernet Franc, there being no role for Cabernet Sauvignon here, and the planting density was a fairly standard 6,000 vines per hectare.
