A Land of Honorable Wine Tradition
It is located between the Fonréaud and Fourcas hills, the Listrac plateau "can be compared to the most beautiful views of the Medoc" (M. d'Armaihac, quoted by Cocks and Féret, in the 16th edition). The soils of the vineyard, especially gravel and naturally drained gravel, benefit from a generous sun.
There are so many qualities that can define a warm and precocious terroir particularly favorable with the maturation of the grape that has demonstrated for a long time its ability to produce great wines.
Also, in terms of combating cryptogamic, special vigilance is required due to the humidity generated by the proximity of the estuary.
A traditional grape planting
It was expanded according to the opportunities. The vineyard now covers 2.8 hectares. The extension was carried out in several soils, particularly suitable for the development of Cabernet Sauvignon. This new situation made it possible to change the initial configuration of the grape varieties, which gave prominence to Merlot, in the sense of a more "average" definition of wine.
A philosophy of the ground
Regarding the cultural approach of the vineyard, Miguel Martinho Afonso defends mainly preventive interventions. “Yielding is not my goal. I let the terroir and nature as well as the climactic year take their time ... I do not necessarily want to have very clean grounds, I let the soil live," he says.
In the center of the intervention device, manual forms are carefully executed in order to optimize the health of the vines and avoid agglomeration of the plant and to promote the passage of air: scraping first, which not only requires not less than 400 hours of work, but also stripping and thinning.
Being aware of ecological issues, Miguel Martinho Afonso practices a rational viticulture that privileges natural products. The repeated interventions are executed in due course thanks to a great team, sensitized with this earth time.
