Carruades or Running two Hares at once
Defining the right harvest dates for the Lafite parcels was one of the
challenges of the vintage. Some of the Cabernet came before the
Merlot, in a duet dance where the two grape varieties relied on each
other to help us define the ripeness and profile of the wine. We
would taste the berries of one, then the other, to decide when the
plots would be ready.
The result? In our quest to make a great Carruades that tells its
vintage story, this is not a 4-varietal Carruades this year. There’s
just Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon, looking at each other and
telling their complementary stories.
In the end, we managed to catch both these hares at the right time.
This year, “Caudeyrac”, a legendary plot on the Lafite plateau,
gives our Carruades a more Pauillac character than ever.
For ageing, we are experimenting with the use of wooden vats from
our historic vinification vat-house for part of our Carruades blend.
