Château d'Aussières
“Such a wild natural place with great force and beauty and with land of exceptional potential”
Baron Eric de Rothschild
The vineyard
The 167 hectare vineyard is situated close to Narbonne, in the Corbières wine appellation, at the heart of the “Fontfroide terroir”. The soil is very shallow and stony on the higher slopes, contains sand and sandstone at the base of the hills and becomes deeper and sandier in the plains. In some parts of the vineyard, outcrops of pink sandstone make mechanical work difficult.
Two thirds of the vineyard are in the Corbières AOC appellation (grape varieties: Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault) and one third in the Vin de Pays d’Oc appellation (Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot).
The vineyard is managed in the traditional Corbières style with 4,400 vines/ha trained on trellises. As the vineyard is still young, yields have been kept very low (around 35 hl/ha), to encourage strong root development and the vine's structure while at the same time ensuring a very high quality harvest. On the basis of the excellent results that have been achieved, we have decided, as the vines now begin to mature, to continue this practice.
The property is managed by the technical director Eric Kohler, who is assisted by vineyard manager Cyril Mariscal and cellar master Aymeric Izard.
