A WORLD APART VOLUME N°2 CHÂTEAU DES LAURETS N 44° 55’ 3.8’’ W 0° 4’ 55.2’’ An epicurean invitation THE ART OF CULTIVATING SINGULARITY THROUGH EXCELLENCE... Experience n°2 GET STARTED... Destination FRANCE SAINT-EMILION PUISSEGUIN SAINT-EMILION CHÂTEAU DES LAURETS N 44° 55’ 3.8’’ W 0° 4’ 55.2’’ A WORLD APART VOLUME N°2 CHÂTEAU DES LAURETS Table of contents 11 | A BRILLIANT SATELLITE 15 | BENJAMIN AND ARIANE DE ROTHSCHILD 21 | A SECOND EMPIRE GEM 25 | THE STRENGTH OF A GREAT TERROIR 29 | THE ART OF THE VINE 33 | THE ART OF WINE 38 | APPENDIX 50 | CONTACTS P.9 | Château des Laurets P.10 | Château des Laurets A Brilliant Satellite ORBITING SAINT-EMILION Satellite, is the name given to the four appellations neigh- bouring Saint-Emilion AOC : Montagne Saint-Emilion, Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion, Lussac Saint-Emilion and Puisseguin Saint- Emilion. Ten kilometres from Saint-Emilion, the vineyards of Puisseguin enjoy the same limestone and clay soils. They are planted on a starfish limestone plateau reaching up 100 metres above sea level. LOCATION AWARD-WINNING TRAJECTORY The majority of the Château des Laurets terroir enjoys The Compagnie Vinicole sales these soils across 40 hectares team is directly focusing on of south-facing hillsides, restaurants and merchants. with the limestone bedrock occasionally showing through. MISSION SPEED OF DEVELOPMENT Continue to explore the terroir and its potential. Ever since it was acquired by Benjamin de Rothschild in Join the upper echelons of the 2003, Château des Laurets appellation. has been consistently imp- roving in terms of quality and recognition. P.11 | Château des Laurets Making a wine is an action born of aesthetics... There is an un- deniable extra touch of beauty and elegance which is of vital importance. Wine is sharing and pleasure. Wine is part of a way of life. Ariane de Rothschild CHAIRWOMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD GROUP P.14 | Château des Laurets Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild « THE AUDACITY TO PROCEED... ...THE COURAGE TO INVENT. » Benjamin and Ariane de Ro- resources it needs to reveal thschild have been running the quintessence of its terroir the Compagnie Vinicole since and enhance its expression. 1997. “We are proud of what we In 2003, Benjamin de Ro- have inherited, and interpret thschild acquired Château it every day in order to ele- des Laurets in the Puisseguin vate it to a new level. What Saint-Emilion appellation. makes us audacious is our It was the Rothschild family’s responsibility to make this first acquisition on the Bor- way of life an integral part deaux right bank. It was a of the terroir and of its eco- way of continuing and paying nomic, cultural and artistic tribute to the pioneering activities. We must also safe- work of his father Baron Ed- guard expertise as a treasure mond de Rothschild, who had to be closely protected and acquired Château Clarke (an passed on to future genera- unheralded Cru Bourgeois in tions.’ The visionary legacy Listrac-Médoc) thirty years of a whole dynasty of epicu- earlier: convinced of the ter- reans is what stands behind roir’s excellence, he devoted Edmond de Rothschild Heri- all his efforts to transforming tage, which incorporates all it into an icon of its appella- of the group’s activities focu- tion. Benjamin de Rothschild sing on a way of life. shares the same goals. Château des Laurets benefits It is a question of confir- from this creative impulse, ming an intuition and giving and is now gleaming with a Château des Laurets all the new radiance.” P.15 | Château des Laurets P.20 | Château des Laurets A Second Empire Gem Château des Laurets is somewhat of an exception in Puisseguin. In 1860, the estate’s owner – confident in the excellence of his terroir and wines – added this perfect example of a château in Napoleon III style, which stands out with its octagonal central tower decorated with stained glass windows, designed by the Bordeaux architect Mialhe. As you pass through the majestic entrance gates, the château dominates the entire vineyard. It is nestled amid its grounds which harbour specimens more than a century old as well as a variety of species. To ensure its future, a hundred trees have been planted since 2004 at Ariane de Rothschild’s instigation. Today, the beauty and scale of Château des Laurets mean that it remains unique in the Puisseguin Saint-Emilion appellation. P.21 | Château des Laurets P.24 | Château des Laurets The Strength Of a Great Terroir A sensation of insular calm clay soils which (like the great reigns here. A protected Saint-Emilion terroirs) are island, a horizon of vines particularly well suited to across gentle slopes, and the Merlot. slow, patient and powerful Twenty hectares were work of the plants in the earth uprooted and replanted to and the people who cultivate redistribute grape varieties them... The estate is a single across more favourable stretch of land covering terroirs by planting the best 70 hectares, making it the clones and rootstock. largest in the Saint-Emilion region. It encompasses three Merlot and Cabernet Franc levels and two appellations : make up 80% and 20% of the Puisseguin Saint-Emilion and vines planted respectively. The Montagne Saint-Emilion. vineyard’s average age is now 25 years. Château des Laurets is produced in Puisseguin This pursuit of quality in Saint-Emilion AOC from matching soils with plant a single, very uniform materials will continue over 40-hectare piece of land. the next ten years with more These south-facing vineyards ripping up and replanting are on the first plateau, the (always at 5,500 vines per highest at 80 metres above hectare) at a rate of two to sea level, and have limestone- three hectares a year. THE OLDEST PLOTS These were planted right next to the chateau in 1946. The vines are an average of 70 years old. They are used entirely for the single-variety plot selection wine created in 2004, representing the quintessence of Château des Laurets’s terroir and expertise. P.25 | Château des Laurets P.28 | Château des Laurets The Art Of The Vine The vineyards are worked Disbudding, leaf thinning, using precision sustainable green harvests and low yields viticulture. Grass strips are are all used in the quest for planted between the rows of top-quality grapes. Harvests vines. Inputs are limited to are performed both using as few as possible by using machines and by hand for environmentally-friendly Château des Laurets, and production methods. entirely by hand for the plot selection. Alternative cultivation and treatment methods are applied A double pass at the sorting to various experimental plots. table ensures that the fruit is The vines are pruned as single flawless when it is placed into or double Guyot. the vats. A TRADITION OF MODERNITY According to Professor Enjalbert from the University of Bordeaux, a specialist in viticultural geology, Château des Laurets was one of the focal points of the 18th-century agricultural revolution. Its owner Pierre Combret de la Nauze experimented with renovating the vineyards using selection and the mix of grape varieties. This desire for innovation continued unabated. In the late 19th century, Château des Laurets was one of the very first estates to have a multilevel vat house, followed by a stainless steel vat in 1970. Today it has a collection of entirely renovated oak, concrete and stainless steel vats. P.29 | Château des Laurets P.32 | Château des Laurets The Art Of Wine Château des Laurets’s elegant tannic structure and technical director is Fabrice good acidity levels, ensuring Bandiera. freshness in the wine and Château des Laurets’s “I have been working at the characteristic tension in the estate for 24 years and am finish. very attached to it – I know every single individual vine. I Gentle extraction is the have overseen every change preferred option. Micro- made to the production oxygenation during the post- rationale. We had reached fermentation maceration the limits of what we could allows the free anthocyanins achieve when Benjamin de not polymerised with tannins Rothschild acquired Château to be retrieved, in order to des Laurets in 2003. Building provide structure, density and on the work previously depth.” performed, we began a new qualitative phase designed to Wines are protected from highlight our expertise and any oxidation during the our wines using ambitious maturation process, and no means. racking is used. Our terroir, soils, exposure, Depending on the vintage, and choice of clones and 30% to 40% of the harvest is rootstock offer both ideal matured in new and second- ripeness and perfect balance fill barrels with the remainder with gourmet red fruit, an in vats. P.33 | Château des Laurets “We prioritise richness and embossed bottles featuring precision for the wine’s Edmond de Rothschild aromas with crisp fruit notes, Heritage imagery. so the oak must remain discreet whilst also adding The exceptional character complexity”, Fabrice Bandiera of the 100% Merlot plot emphasises. French oak selection, matured entirely barrels from seven different in barrels, is reinforced by cooperages are generally its presentation in a wide given a light toast, with a few shouldered, heavier bottle. receiving a stronger toast The wines of Château des level for toasted notes in the Laurets are therefore an wine. integral part of the Edmond de The wines are matured for Rothschild Heritage « Art de 14 to 16 months. “All batches Vivre » of life, and benefit from are preserved in their entirety the shared brand’s awareness up until blending, which is and prestige. performed just two months 90% of Château des Laurets before bottling.