Terroir:                        Clay-calcarerous soils on a hillside

Exposition:                   All slopes are facing due South

Cepage:                       Semillon 20%, Muscadelle 10%, Sauvignon 70%

Age of Plants:              Eight to ten years

Vineyard density:          5,000 vines per hectare
 

Methode of Cultivation: 

One green grass row for three worked rows. The vines are cultivated according to the organic agriculture (Boidynamic tendance) without weed killers and chemical products.

The grapes are picked individually by hand in 5 successive stages. Only matured grapes are selected for the production of this truly exceptional wine.

Supra-Extraction: 

This means the grapes are first frozen and then cold pressed at a low temperature. This is the method used in the vinification of "CUVEE SOPHIE".

M. Despres the proprietaire of this estate is also the wine maker. He has discovered a new and unique way of making "CUVEE SOPHIE" as he allows fermentation and aging to take place in new French Oak barrels for 70% of the harvest. The balance is fermented in stainless steel. When "CUVEE SOPHIE" is ready for bottling, M. Despres then makes a melange of the two cuvees and bottles immediately so the wine retains its youthful appearance and fresh taste.

French Law allows in normal vintages a yield of 55-60 hectoliters per hectare but when producing "CUVEE SOPHIE", the maximum yield is only 40 hectoliters per hectare.

TASTING COMMENTS:

A truly hamonious and elegant wine, which has tremendous fruit and a delicate silky texture. "CUVEE SOPHIE" has a long and persistant finish with aromas of fruit mixed with a silica mineral aspect.