At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Bordeaux, Libournais
- Appellation
- Pomerol
- Main grapes
- Merlot and Cabernet Franc
- Signature wine
- Château La Croix Saint-Vincent
- Defining feature
- Certified organic viticulture, manual harvest and double sorting
The Producer
On Libournais lands, the Leydet family has been established since 1862. Vignobles Leydet is a family owned Bordeaux producer with Pomerol estate holdings. Château La Croix Saint-Vincent is the second wine of Château de Valois, giving the producer a named Pomerol bottle beneath the château's principal wine.
Place
The Libournais is the broader Bordeaux area named in the family's history. Pomerol is the appellation carried by Château La Croix Saint-Vincent. An appellation is a legally defined place name on a wine label, so Pomerol identifies the origin of this red Bordeaux wine.
Soil And Site
Fine gravel and sandy soils make up the vineyard ground, with alios subsoil below. Gravel and sand are loose surface materials that allow water to move through the upper soil, while a lower subsoil layer changes how water moves beneath the roots.
Story
Frédéric Leydet has managed the domains since 1996. Château La Croix Saint-Vincent is the second wine of Château de Valois in Pomerol. In Bordeaux, a second wine is a separate estate bottling with its own name and a different place in the hierarchy from the château's principal wine. The Pomerol label gives the estate a distinct bottle within that hierarchy.
Vineyards And Cellar
Certified organic viticulture governs the vineyard. Harvest is entirely manual, followed by a double sorting process before fermentation. The wine ages for 11 to 15 months in French oak barrels on lees without racking. Lees are spent yeast cells left after fermentation; contact with them can soften the mouthfeel and add fullness, while French oak allows gradual oxygen exposure and can contribute spice.
Wines
Château La Croix Saint-Vincent is the second wine of Château de Valois in Pomerol. Its red Bordeaux blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Annual production is approximately 18,000 bottles. The second wine category separates this label from the château's principal bottling, giving it a distinct place in the estate hierarchy.
In The Glass
The 2013 vintage has a purple robe with garnet reflections. Its bouquet opens in small touches of red fruit, vanilla, licorice and truffle. The palate is tender, supple and fresh, built on silky tannins.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Château La Croix Saint-Vincent 2020. The colour is clear and brilliant purple red with violet highlights. Ripe red and black fruits sit alongside red flowers, aromatic herbs, vanilla and a toasting aroma. The palate is dense, with harmonious tannins and a long finish. It is the first bottle to open when the aim is to taste the producer's Pomerol red in its darker fruited 2020 form.
Anecdote
In 2015, Frédéric Leydet's conversion of the domains to organic farming reached certification. Organic certification records the farming method before harvest, covering the approved ways the vines are cultivated. Château La Croix Saint-Vincent is produced from certified organic viticulture. The grapes are then harvested by hand and pass through a double sorting process before fermentation. The certified farming and cellar selection are separate stages in the making of the same bottle.
Final Word
At Château La Croix Saint-Vincent, hand harvest, double sorting and French oak lees ageing form the bottle's production sequence.
Sources
- www.hachette-vins.com/guide-vins/producteurs/15463/vignobles-leydet
- www.hachette-vins.com/guide-vins/les-vins/ch-la-croix-saint-vincent-2013-2017/201722683
- www.ambrosia.fr/en/chateau-la-croix-saint-vincent-en
- boutique.vignoblesplaisance.com/produit/chateau-croix-st-vincent-pomerol-vin-bio
- www.sommelierwinebox.com/en/products/pomerol-grand-vin-de-bordeaux-chateau-lacroix-saint-vincent