Lynsolence

The estate

Lynsolence is 1 of the 2 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru wines of Vignobles Denis Barraud, at Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. The estate has been in the family since it was created at the end of the 19th century; Denis Barraud’s grandfather, Pierre-Henri Descrambe, enlarged it, and Denis has been in charge since 1971. It now covers 36 hectares: 7 in Saint-Émilion, for Château Les Gravières and Lynsolence, and 29 in Bordeaux Supérieur, for Château de la Cour d’Argent, De Lyne and a clairet. Lynsolence dates from 1998; his daughter Sandra named it and drew the label. The estate has held Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) since October 1, 2019, and the AREA certification of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

The wine comes from 2.5 hectares at the lieu-dit Le Bert: very gravelly sand and deep gravel over a cool, iron-rich subsoil, planted wholly to Merlot at 5,600 vines a hectare on low-vigor rootstock, with vines of 45 to 50 years, grassed and drained. The leaves are thinned and the crop green-harvested in June and August, the lateral shoots removed by hand, and only organic amendments are used, for yields of 19 to 25 hectoliters a hectare. The grapes are picked by hand, sorted on tables and cold-soaked at 6°C for 8 to 10 days, then fermented in temperature-controlled wooden vats and 400-liter barrels, with délestage, punching down and more than 30 days on the skins. The malolactic runs in new barrels, and the wine stays on its lees in new Tronçais oak for 18 months or more. Everything here points the same way: small, slow and deliberate.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, the lieu-dit Le Bert

Classification

No classification

Owner

Vignobles Denis Barraud, in the family since the end of the 19th century

Direction

Denis Barraud, since 1971

Vineyard

2.5 hectares; vines of 45 to 50 years, 5,600 a hectare

Ground

Very gravelly sand and deep gravel over a cool, iron-rich subsoil

Grapes

Merlot 100%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale since October 1, 2019; AREA

Cellar

Wooden vats and 400-liter barrels; 18 months or more in new Tronçais oak

Wines

Lynsolence, since 1998

The house

Also Château Les Gravières, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru; Château de la Cour d’Argent and De Lyne, Bordeaux Supérieur

Sources: Vignobles Denis Barraud, the estate · Vignobles Denis Barraud, the estate, in English · Vignobles Denis Barraud, Lynsolence · Vignobles Denis Barraud, Lynsolence, in French · Les Vins de Saint-Émilion, Lynsolence