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…

Mapping plant water status to indirectly assess variability in grape flavonoids and inform selective harvest decisions

Plant water stress affects grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berry composition and is variable in space due to variations in the physical environment at the growing site. Could we use water status maps as a sensitive tool to discriminate between harvest zones?

Read More

The influence of vine row position in terraced Merlot vineyards on water deficit and polyphenols – case study in the Vipava Valley, Slovenia

A study was conducted in the Vipava Valley (Slovenia) to understand the effects of positioning rows of Merlot (Vitis vinifera L.) vines on terraces on plant available water, yield, and grape composition

Read More

Comparative proteomic analysis of wines made from Botrytis cinerea infected and healthy grapes reveal interesting parallels to the gushing phenomenon in sparkling wine

In addition to aroma compounds also protein composition strongly influences the quality of wines. Proteins of wine derive mainly from the plant Vitis vinifera and may be influenced by abiotic stress as well as fermentation conditions or fining. Additionally, fungal infections can affect the protein content as well by introducing fungal proteins or affecting grape protein composition. An infection of the vine with the plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis (B.) cinerea was shown to cause a degradation of proteins in the resulting wine. Moreover, it influences the foaming properties in sparkling wine.

Read More

Valorization of grape marc in a biorefinery loop for producing short- and medium-chain fatty acids, hydrogen, and methane, with polyphenol recovery

Global grape production amounts to approximately 70 million tons per year, with Europe contributing 61% of the world’s wine output, primarily from Italy, France, and Spain.

Read More

Antioxidant activity of grape seed and skin extract during ripening

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important physiological role in the body’s defense and being involved in numerous signaling pathways 1, 2. When the balance between oxidant and antioxidant species is altered in favor of ROS, oxidative stress is generated. In this condition the cells are damaged as the ROS oxidize important cellular components, such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and

Read More