Château La Pointe

The A.O.C. Pomerol, in the Bordeaux region of Aquitaine (in the southwest of France), has always been famous for its quality. Throughout history, numerous organisations have been responsible for setting and monitoring standards, including the Hospitallers, a wine brotherhood of medieval origin, who founded a hospice in the 12th century. There, in an enclave in the middle of the Camino de Santiago, this order invited visitors to recover with a glass of red wine made in the area. Today, this baton has been picked up by L'union des Grands Crus, including Château La Pointe, one of the oldest and most representative properties in Pomerol.

This estate, already 23 hectares in size at the time, was one of the first to earn the right to use the word château in its name. Since then its fame has only grown, with their wines being awarded a silver medal at the Bordeaux Exhibition (1895) and at the Universal Exhibition of Amsterdam (in 1883). Today, it continues to produce high quality wines, like Château La Pointe.

Château La Pointe is a red wine made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This red wine starts life in the 23 hectares currently owned by this company. Its name comes from the unique geometry of the vineyard, because right at the entrance to the estate there is a triangular and pointed plot. All these plots are characterised by a mixture of gravel, clay and pebble soils. In fact, this amalgamation is what makes this area so high quality, earning it the title of grand cru. This means that the main aim is not to “force the vine to achieve maximum yield, but to express the potential of its terroir, taking into account the diversity of soils and the differences between vines.” This means understanding and dedicating oneself to each of these plants, which are 30 years old on average, and working without the use of chemical products.

Without ever losing sight of tradition, the work continues to be done by hand, with special care and attention to detail. In this sense, there is no doubt that the grapes must be harvested by hand, without disturbing them, so that the clusters reach the winery in perfect condition. To do this, the harvested grapes will be transported in small boxes (to avoid crushing). After this, the Château La Pointe grapes undergo a double selection process: only the best will make it to the vats in the vat room (which was renovated in 2009). A key part of this phase is the concrete tanks, where the plots will be racked separately. Each of these tanks will have a temperature control system to ensure that alcoholic fermentation takes place under the best conditions. It is also essential to pump over and punch down, two methods used to extract as much colour and aroma as possible.

Finally, the Château La Pointe maceration is the final step before malolactic fermentation. From there, Château La Pointe is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% used). After this, and before bottling, it is time for blending the different plots and soils in the right quantities.