Château Pédesclaux: Vineyards
Château Pédesclaux is located in the northern section half of the Pauillac appellation, just on the far side of the Chenal du Gaet, the drainage channel which divides the commune; to the south of this channel lies the Bages plateau, while to the north is the motte which bears Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Pontet-Canet. Indeed, these latter two estates are probably Château Pédesclaux’s closest neighbours, lying about a kilometre to the west. The estate lies on the right of the D2 as you head northwards along the Médoc, many of the vineyards abutting the woodland and industrial park that sits on the palus, the uncultivated land that lies along the very edge of the Gironde (although there are many other more distant parcels, including some abutting vineyards of the aforementioned first growths).
The estate is spread over 43 hectares in total, with 36 hectares of vineyard in production at the time of writing. The soils are unsurprisingly gravelly, with seams of clay and limestone found at a greater depth. The oldest vines date from 1950, when Lucien Jugla acquired the estate, and the average age of the vineyard is approximately 35 years. The planting density ranges from 8,333 to 10,000 vines per hectare. Half of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon, while Merlot accounts for 45% of the vineyard and Cabernet Franc just 5%. There is green harvesting and leaf plucking to ameliorate quality. Work here is overseen by the vineyard manager, Cyril Petit.
