Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Soils and plant material in prestigious Bordeaux vineyards impacts on yield and quality

Soils and plant material in prestigious Bordeaux vineyards impacts on yield and quality

Abstract

High resolution soil maps (scale : 1/3000) were created for seven of the most prestigious red wine producing estates in Bordeaux, covering in total approximately 400 ha. Soil type and grapevine variety were recorded for each vineyard block of these estates. A quality index was created by considering the destination of the grapes produced on each block, whether they were integrated in the first, the second or the third quality wine produced by the estate. Quality index was averaged over five vintages. Yield was measured for each vineyard block and averaged over five vintages. PEYROSOL (gravely soil) was the most frequent soil type in these estates (44% of the total mapped area). Soils with temporary water logging (REDOXISOL), heavy clay soils (PLANOSOL) and sandy-gravely soils (BRUNISOL) each covered 10% of the mapped area . Highest quality was obtained on PLANOSOLS, ARENOSOLS (sandy soils), BRUNISOLS and PEYROSOLS. Quality was low on COLLUVIOSOLS (deep soils on colluvium), LUVISOLS (leached soils) and REDUCTISOLS (soils with permanent water logging). Cabernet-Sauvignon was the dominant grapevine variety (59% of the mapped area), followed by Merlot (32%), Cabernet franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (1%). On average, the Quality Index was higher for Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot compared to Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot. Yield was dependent on soil type and cultivar. Comparison of soil type, cultivar and Quality Index can indicate which relationships between soil type / cultivar contribute to optimum quality performance in Bordeaux.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

VAN LEEUWEN C. (1), RENOUF V. (1,2), TREGOAT O. (3), MARGUERIT E. (1) and ROBY J.-P. (1)

(1) ENITA – ISVV, 1 Cours du Général de Gaulle, CS 40201, F-33175 Gradignan cedex
(2) Laffort, BP 17, F-33015 Bordeaux cedex 15
(3) Olivier Tregoat, Viti Dévelopment, Expertise de terroir,39 rue Antoine Miquel, F-34500 Béziers

Contact the author

Keywords

Soil type, Bordeaux, estate, quality, yield

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Effects of Silver Thiosulphate and Salicylic Acid on the long-term maintenance of the embryogenic callus of Vitis vinifera

New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) have the potential to revolutionize the genetic improvement of grapevine. However, the practical application of these techniques is limited by several challenges, such as the difficulty in generating embryogenic calluses, maintaining their competence during in vitro cultivation, and regenerating plants without defects. To overcome these challenges, we conducted a study to test the effect of two treatments on callus cultures derived from different grapevine varieties, with and without embryogenic competence. The tested substances were Silver Thiosulphate (STS) an ethylene inhibitor, and Salicylic Acid (SA), an elicitor with different effects depending on the concentration of use beyond the ethylene inhibitor activity.

Read More

Vine selection in France: An assessment after more than 60 years of work

It was at the end of the second world war that professor Branas laid the foundations of french vine selection. He was also behind the creation of domaine de vassal (1949) and antav (1962), which were to become the bridgeheads of the french strategy for the conservation, selection and multiplication of viticultural diversity. Initially based on visually virus-symptom-free massal selections, with the main aim of providing healthy, clearly-identified plant material, the process evolved as knowledge gained towards clonal selection.

Read More

Petiole phosphorus concentration is controlled by the rootstock genetic background in grapevine: is this a key for understanding rootstock conferred vigour?

Grapevine, Vitis vinifera, requires grafting on Phylloxera tolerant rootstocks of American origin in most viticultural areas of the world. The most commonly used species in rootstock creation are V. berlandieri, V. riparia and V. rupestris. Rootstocks not only provide tolerance to Phylloxera but assure the supply of water and mineral nutrients to the scion. The objective of this work was to determine to what extent rootstocks of different parentages alter the mineral composition of petioles of grapevine.

Read More

The opportunities offered by the climate change

Based on the results of experiments since 2000 at the Institut Agro Montpellier and at INRAE – Pech Rouge, and on the international experience acquired during scientific missions, a global reflection on the opportunities offered by climate change is proposed.

Read More

Malolactic fermentation in wine production

What influence do these bacteria have on wines? What new bacteria are being studied to carry out this fermentation? Find below articles about malolactic fermentation published in our 3 media (OENO One, IVES Technical Reviews and IVES Conference Series). OENO One...
Read More