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.

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…

Exploring aromatic profiles and environmental influences on berry chemistry of V. vinifera Riesling and Vitis sp. L’Acadie blanc in Quebec and Nova Scotia, Canada

Wine quality depends on grape biochemical constituents, including sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and bound and free aroma compounds, which are influenced by vineyard location and environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation [1].

El medio natural de Chile como factor de adaptación de la vid

Chile, junto con Australia, EE.UU., Sudáfrica, Argentina y Nueva Zelanda constituye el grupo de países del nuevo mundo vitivinícola. Todos ellos en conjunto han experimentado en la última década

Mannoproteins extraction from wine lees using natural deep eutectic solvents

Wine lees can be a good source of yeast mannoproteins for both food and wine applications [1,2]. However, mannoprotein extraction from wine lees has not yet been scaled up to an industrial scale, mainly because of the limited cost-effectiveness ratio of the methods employed at the laboratory scale [2].

Physicochemical parameters of juices made from different grape varieties in the 2019 and 2020 Harvests of Rio Grande do Sul

This study evaluated the physicochemical parameters of grape juices produced in the serra gaúcha from the 2019 and 2020 harvests. To do this, 43 juice samples were analyzed, and divided into four distinct categories: juices made exclusively from bordô grapes (sb), juices made from bordô and niágara grapes (sbn), juices combining bordô and isabel grapes, and juices made from cuts of several grape varieties.

Isohydric and anisohydric behavior of 18 wine grape varieties grown in an arid climate

The interest in understanding the water balance of terrestrial plants under drought has led to the creation of the isohydric/anisohydric terminology. The classification was related to an implication-driven framework, where isohydric plants maintain a constant and high leaf water potential through an early and intense closure of their stomata, hence risking carbon starvation. In contrast, anisohydric plants drop their leaf water potential to low values as soil drought is establishing due to insensitive stomata and thus risk mortality through hydraulic failure, albeit maximizing carbon intake. When applied to grapevines, this framework has been elusive, yielding discrepancies in the classification of different wine grape varieties around the world.