The joy of terroir

After a summer rainstorm, a double rainbow shines over Château Margaux’s L’Eglise and Jean Brun Est vineyards in the commune of Margaux, 30km north of Bordeaux city. At this time of year the château is starting green harvesting, where unripe grapes are pruned from the vine. This helps to manage yields, and enables the vines to focus their efforts on the remaining grapes, allowing them to fully ripen. The two

vineyards are to the southwest of the first-growth estate; the château itself is hidden behind Margaux’s iconic church (pictured), which sits at the border of the 2.4ha L’Eglise vineyard. Planted in 1953, this plot of

Merlot has some of the Margaux’s oldest vines, producing wines of depth, finesse and power, evoking the clay and gravel soils. Jean Brun Est, in the foreground, is 1ha and planted in 2000 with Cabernet Sauvignon.