Providence: Vineyards
Some of the neighbours to the old Providence estate were very significant; the vineyards of Château Hosanna, another Pomerol estate in the ownership of Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix, were directly adjacent. Indeed, the two estates were more closely intertwined than being mere neighbours, as the wines of Hosanna, with no château or other facility of their own, were made in the re-equipped cellars next-door at Providence (cellars that now ‘belong’ to Château La Fleur-Pétrus, of course). Just beyond the vines of Hosanna lie Château Lafleur and Petrus, also neighbours not to be sniffed at. In the other direction lie the Église Saint-Jean and the associated vineyards, including Château L’Église-Clinet and Château du Domaine de L’Église. The soils have the typical gravel and clay of this section of the plateau.
The vineyard accounted for 4 hectares of the Pomerol appellation (now all absorbed into Château La Fleur-Pétrus), and it was planted mostly with Merlot, this variety comprising 90% of the vineyard, the remaining 10% being purely Cabernet Franc. The vines averaged around 30 years of age, and they were subject to the usual Moueix work programme, with strict control of yields using green harvesting as required, and regular leaf-picking during the growing season in order to enhance ripening.
