GRAND VIN DE BORDEAUX
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Our Vineyard
The region of Graves de Vayres, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC or Guaranteed Vintage Area) covers a sheer 700 hectares on part of the only commons of Vayres and Arveyres. Situated on the left bank of the Dordogne, fronting Fronsac, Pomerol and Saint Emilion, it forms a small inclusion of gravel in the vast area of Entre-Deux-Mers which has a soil of a very different nature.
Our vineyard is located in the AOC Graves de Vayres since 2000 and is composed of a dozen of parcels.
It extends on 13 hectares on the Vayres plateau, planted 80% with merlot and 20% cabernet sauvignon, on a gravels&sand soil.
The vines, 35 years old in average, are thoroughly taken care of and their yield is kept under strict control in order to extract the best possible quality from the terroir. Sugar and flavour concentration as well as harvest quality are better in a vine with lower yield. This is due to the simple fact that the sap of the vine stock feeds less bunches, and also less clusters are better exposed to the sun.
The vine must also “suffer” and fight for humidity in depth. This is why some plots of land were heavily drained as shown on this picture taken in 2002.
The vine nursing starts in winter with a short pruning in simple or double guyot. Next comes the removal of excess branches to suppress the non fruit bearing young shots. This allows a better airing of the bunches, and once more, vine nutriment concentration.
The leaf stripping in summer improves the display of the bunches to the sun, thus allowing a better ripening process and grapes’ health.
The green harvest, or thinning out of the bunches, consists in suppressing a certain number of bunches in order to limit the yield still more. In addition to the aforementioned concentration, this produces a more homogeneous maturity.
In 2018, we decided to plant the last hectare located in front of the Chateau to create a new cuvee : Chateau du Petit Puch "le Bordeaux", a fruity and gourmand 100% Merlot wine, in AOC Bordeaux.
Our environmental engagement
Since they purchased the Petit Puch in 2004, the Le Proux de la Rivière Family is engaged in a modern and sustainable agriculture.
The first step of this engagement was the AREA certification (Sustainable Agriculture in Aquitaine), equivalent to the HVE 2 level (High Environmental Value) of the french environmental Grenelle law. It prooves our efforts to improve sustainable viticulture, limit treatments, improve bio-diversity, reduce pollution...
In 2018, we obtain the last step of this french environmental Grenelle law, the HVE 3 certification.
Lot of invests have been realized to succeed; purchasing of a mecanical weeding-machines, building of a washing-station with water recuperation, building of effluent treatment station...
