In the vineyard
The property operates an intra-plot viticultural programme, adapting their viticultural practices depending on the specific plot and the age of the vine. With the warmer, drier climate of Bordeaux in recent vintages, the team at Labégorce prefer to thin shoots rather than deleafing, avoiding potential sunburn of grapes whilst reducing transpiration of water and thereby concentrating the nutrition in the sap to the shoots bearing fruit.
This time consuming approach has brought fantastic results that the winemaking team believe are very much worth the extra effort in relation to the increased quality in fruit. From the 2019 vintage onwards, they have increased the proportion of Cabernet Franc in the blend, with the majority of the assemblage being an almost 50/50 split between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with a small percentage of Petit Verdot.
In the winery
The winemaking team at Château Labégorce is headed up by Marjolaine Maurice de Coninck who, since taking over at the property in 2011, has made huge improvement to the wines being produced at the property. 2019 saw the completion of a new state-of-the-art vat house.
The blend of Labégorce is typically 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc (from 2019 onwards) and 5% Petit Verdot. 40% new oak barrels are used in the élevage.