The art to cultivate
« The earth does not belong to man;
man belongs to earth »
– Chief Seattle
We cultivate our vines in a sustainable way to produce healthy grapes, guaranteeing the quality of the wine. But also to preserve the ecosystem of the vineyard and respect our customers health.
Chardonnay Grape Variety
Wines from Chablis are harvested from Chardonnay’s noble grape variety. Grafted in plant nurseries onto rootstocks resistant to phyloxera and soil composition, the young plants are planted at a density of 6000 plants per hectare. After three years, the vine becomes fruit-bearing and is entitled to its appellation (with the exeption of Grand Crus that needs 4 years before earning the appellation). The average age of a vine is approximately 25 years. After this we will call them ‘Old Vines’.
Working the soils
To preserve and favorize soils over a longer term, the usage of weeding is limited. Depending on the parcels, the soils are cultivated or grassed with regular grinding during summer. Labour is done mechanically or by horse, depending on the slopes.
“Guyot double” pruning
During winter, pruning the vine is done according to Guyot Double – style consisting in leaving about 20 eyes (futur buds) per vine plant. The pruned shoots are burned to avoid leaving all the parasites on the ground gathered by vegetation during summer.
Protecting the flower buds
Spring equals blossoming of the vine buds, the stade of bud breaks. With frost in April being particularly severe in Chablis (temperaturs lowering to -12°C), it is necessary to protect the vine. On a big part of the vineyard, heaters are used illuminating and reheating the vines. Along the river of Le Serein, more precisely on the road of Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaumes (connecting Chablis to Maligny), the practice of aspersion is prefered. Offering a unique, almost magical sight !
Reasonable treatment
When frosting has passed, we proceed to what we call ‘baissage’ (lowering) by attaching the remaining branches onto an iron wire. After that we treat the vine against diseases. We use sulfur to fight against the oïdium and copper against the mildew. In addition we limit the number of treatments for climatologic and atmospheric reasons.
Flowering generally happens around the end of May. It is caracterized by the fall of small flowerhoods and continues with the establishment of fruit set (start of magnifications of the grapes).
Controling the yields
At the start of summer, we proceed trimming the wild shoots of the vineyard, mostly mechanically. Followed by disbudding; eliminating the second shoot on the same knot. We air the vine stock by stripping the vine of its dispendable greenery. As a result of our general athmosperic conditions we harvest in green and manually lighten our parcel by deleting the excessif grapes for the estimated yield.
After mid August, ripening period corresponds to the stop of growth in the vines and a changement of grape color. The grapes loose their herbaceous appearance to become transparent. Throughout this period, an intensive migration of sugars occurs whereas the accidity begins to decrease.
Harvest
Horaires d’ouverture
Monday to Friday
from 8h to 12h30 and 14h to 17h
Saturdays from 8h to 12h
Lamblin & Fils
1 Rue Marguerite de Bourgogne
89800 Maligny
Contact
Tél : 03 86 98 22 00
Fax : 03 86 47 50 12
infovin@lamblin.com