Notre choix de la culture raisonnée depuis plus de vingt ans vient renforcer notre implication dans la sauvegarde de l'environnement.
This 24-hectare growing estate, that has been reunited and enlarged for half a century, comprises 20 hectares of vineyard, 12 of which in one piece. Although the vineyard was damaged by frost in 1956, it has since recovered. It is now over 30 years old on average.
60% of the vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, and 35% to Merlot Noir. The rest is divided between Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Following the traditional method, the rows of vines are spaced closely together and trained on low trellises. The vine density of 7500 plants per hectare requires a lot of workforce.
The vineyard is constantly monitored and taken care of, from the trimming (between December and March) to the harvesting. In winter, the vines are tied and the trellises are maintained. In spring, the vines are trimmed (pruning of the infertile buds), and the branches are propped up as they grow, so that they can be trellised in the direction of the rows. All these manual tasks are done repeatedly until mid summer, together with some mechanical operations: topping and trimming, anticryptogamic treatments against mildew and oidium, and preparing the soil.
Traditional ploughing methods avoid the proliferation of weeds and allow the soil to absorb manure and compost.
Grape maturity control is carried out about one month before the estimated date of harvesting. Samples are taken regularly in order to determine when the parcels should be harvested, and to make sure the quality of the assemblages in the vats is homogeneous. That control, which is always done around the same time of the year, has allowed making a qualitative chart of the vineyard. Thus, Château Vieux Robin is able to harvest “a la carte”, when the grapes have reached their ideal levels of ripeness. Manual harvesting is then combined with the use of an extremely flexible grape harvester.
Parcel selection of the vineyard allows us to create the vintages during the vinification processes.