Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
As far as we know the name “Girolate” comes from the ancient french [giro]: "the one who turns" and [late]: "great piece of land". We believe this terroir was very much sought after by poters for the excellent quality of its clay. Beneath the ground lies a thick layer of limestone enclosing a quarry. The 10ha plot is an exceptional terroir ideal for merlot. In order to favor its natural expression, we have choosen to plant at a very high density, spacing the vines by a mere meter that is to say 10 000 vines per ha. Because we wante them to concentrate all their energy on the 4 bunches they were to carry, whe have constrained them to grow as "bonsai’s" meaning very close to the ground with a high canopy. According to Jean Louis Despagne’s principle: "it is vain to believe one can create in the cellar what the vine wasn’t able to deliver"
In most of France, wines are named by their place of origin and not by the type of grape (with the exception of Alsace). Just like a red Burgundy is by law, always made of Pinot noir, a red Bordeaux is a blended wine composed mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Depending on the laws of the village from which the grapes come, the conditions of the vintage and decisions of the winemaker, the blend can be further supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and in rare cases, Carmenere. So popular and repeated has this mix of grape varieties become worldwide, that the term, Bordeaux Blend, refers to a wine blended in this style, regardless of origin.