Clos Cristal: Vineyards
The hospital owns more than 10 hectares of vines, mostly red, although there is also a small plot of white vines. There are 9.87 hectares of red varieties planted, of which the majority are within the Clos Cristal, but about one-fifth are planted outside. These red varieties are almost exclusively Cabernet Franc, although there is also a little Cabernet Sauvignon planted against the walls. The 0.45-hectare plot of Chenin Blanc is outside the clos, and there is even a small plot of Pinot Noir and Pineau d’Aunis, planted during the twilight years of Eric Dubois, which had been destined for a sparkling wine.
Within the clos the aspect is south-facing, with soils of limestone in parts, but more sandy soils in others. The walls are said to run east to west, although as I alluded in my introduction this is not quite true, as the clos includes walls running in both east-west (near the top of the slope) and north-south (at the eastern end, within the clos) directions. There are vines planted on both sides of the walls; although the heat retained by the walls brings a significant advantage, the vineyard often reaching maturity three or even four weeks in advance of comparable sites nearby, there is no real advantage to having the vines rooted on the cooler side, hence more recent plantings have been established entirely on the south-facing aspect.
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