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Location of the
Vineyards.
The vineyards of Domaine du Vieux Lazaret are spread over 90 hectares,
split into 35 different parcels of vines throughout Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is today amongst the largest domains
in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with 80 hectares planted in red grape
varieties and 10 planted with white grapes. The number of parcels enables the Domaine
du Vieux Lazaret to give greater complexity to its wines due to the
diversity of soils, grape types and differing ages of vines.
Grape Varieties.
The red grapes varieties consists of 10 different grapes permitted in A.O.C. Châteauneuf-du-Pape
with the dominant varieties being Grenache (70%), Syrah (15%), Mourvèdre
and Cinsault. Domaine du Vieux Lazaret owns a parcel where all the grapes
allowed are present. The white varieties used for Domaine du Vieux Lazaret are Grenache
Blanc (50%), Clairette (25%), Bourboulenc (20%) and Roussanne (5%). Vines
are planted with a maximum of 4 000 per hectare. The average is about 40 years,
but two parcels have been planted more than 90 years ago.
Geology.
The vines are planted on three different type of soil :
- The "galets" which are large, heavy rounded stones traditionally
found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.
- Quartz rock, witch retains the heat of the sun during the days to continue
to warm the vines during the night.
- The underlying soil composed of layers of clay, small stones, sand, gravel
and chalk / limestone rock.
The
viticultural practices are strictly controlled and follow those traditions practiced for many generations.
The pruning is only done by those vineyard workers who are extremely experienced, and follow the strict rules of the appellation, with some vines
trained on wires and others trained low on the ground.
The soil in the vineyard
is regularly worked to allow proper aeration, with regular application of
compost, and other treatments to maintain the best organic level and condition
of the soil.
Harvesting of the grapes is done entirely by hand, with very strict
selection of the best grapes to enhance the quality of the Domaine du Vieux
Lazaret wine. This limits the maximum production, under the A.O.C laws, to 35
hectoliters per hectare.
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