Château Haut Bertinerie

The château

The Vignoble Bertinerie has been in the same family for almost 200 years, but its modern shape dates from 1961, when Daniel Bantegnies took it over and began to renovate it. His sons Eric and Frantz joined him in 1987 and 1990 and carried the work on; in 2002 the château itself was fully renovated, with a barrel cellar dug underground. The vineyard, about 80 hectares including long leases, lies in some 50 parcels on 3 soils: clay and limestone on the slopes west of Cubnezais, clay and sand on the plateau, and clay and limestone again between Cézac and Cavignac.

The lyre is what sets the place apart. Since 1987 the family has trained 60 hectares this way, the canopy split in 2 so that the grapes open to the light: 4,500 vines a hectare carry about 10,000 square meters of leaves, yields are held to 50 hectoliters, and the grapes ripen about 8 days ahead of a conventional vineyard. The family gives 3 reasons for the lyre: the larger canopy; the vine’s natural vigor, spent on its leaves rather than on its grapes; and the 2 arms, which build up more old wood: at 4,500 vines a hectare, the volume of old wood is 30% greater than in a planting of 10,000 vines a hectare, as in Pauillac or Saint-Julien, for the same yield. The result, the family says, is wine naturally richer in polysaccharides and glycerol: fuller, longer, softer and more complex. Haut Bertinerie is the largest vineyard in France trained on the lyre. Merlot leads the reds at only 60%, with 30 to 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and some Cabernet Franc and Malbec; the whites are Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are picked by hand, and the wines age 9 to 18 months in barrels less than 3 years old. Château Haut Bertinerie, red and white, heads a range that also includes Château Bertinerie, Des Lyres and Château Manon des Brumes.

At a glance

Appellation

Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux

Commune

Cubnezais

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Bantegnies family; Daniel Bantegnies from 1961, joined by his sons Eric and Frantz in 1987 and 1990

Vineyard

About 80 hectares, with long leases; 60 on the lyre since 1987; the largest lyre-trained vineyard in France

Soil

Clay and limestone, and clay and sand, in some 50 parcels Terroir of Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux →

Grapes

Red: Merlot 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30 to 40%, some Cabernet Franc and Malbec. White: Sauvignon Blanc

Cellar

Picked by hand; 9 to 18 months in barrels less than 3 years old

Wines

Château Haut Bertinerie, red and white; Château Bertinerie; Des Lyres; Château Manon des Brumes