Elite Traveler Fall 2022

by Elin McCoy DISCOVER

etr li at ve eler FALL 2022 56

Château Cheval Blanc, one of the most famous estates in Saint-Émilion

Wine

A tree revolution in Bordeaux Insect hotels and weed-nibbling sheep in vineyards, recycled paper for labels and leftover grape skins turned into soles of running shoes are a few recent environmental initiatives in the world’s largest fi ne wine region. Once thought of as stodgy and slow to change, Bordeaux has been on a sustainability fast track for the past decade. Last year, Pomerol, home to Château Petrus, became the fi rst appellation to ban herbicides. Next year Château Cantenac Brown in Margaux will debut a new rammed earth cellar that will need no air conditioning. The buzziest trend is agroforestry, which involves planting trees and bushes among the vines, as was done in the past. “A tree in the middle of a fi eld or on its perimeters has a positive impact on water, the climate and the quality of the soil,” according to agronomist Alain Canet, a specialist in agroforestry who worked with Château Cheval Blanc and sees trees “as a precious tool for viticulture.” Claire Villars-Lurton, owner of Château Haut-Bages Libéral in Pauillac, is a pioneer in the approach. Her estate is one of the few crus classés certi fi ed as both organic and biodynamic. After experimenting with agroforestry for about 15 years, Villars-Lurton began planting one row of trees for every 14 rows of vines last

TAKE TWO// ALL NATURAL

1. 2020 CERES DE HAUT-BAGES LIBÉRAL Call it Bordeaux’s fi rst cru classé natural wine. This new super-value cuvee, made fromMerlot with no sul fi tes, comes from a vineyard cultivated with agroforestry. Intensely fruity and fl oral, it’s also delicate and drinkable now. As for the name, Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. From $25, hautbagesliberal.com This very expensive, sumptuous and complex blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine to put away for a few years. All the vineyard improvements have had an impact, giving the wine fl oral freshness, sparky energy, suave density and pure elegance over power. It’s a star of the vintage. From $1,090, clos19.com 2. 2018 CHÂTEAU CHEVAL BLANC

year, swapping some vines for trees. Not just any variety will do. Her carefully selected mix includes peach, cherry, walnut, birch, country maple and Siberian elm, which are symbiotic with vines. Among the long list of bene fi ts is the way the branches and leaves shelter birds and insects to increase biodiversity and o ff er shade from the midday sun during increasingly frequent heat waves. Trees are also at the heart of the passionate farming approach at Château Cheval Blanc, one of the most famous estates in Saint-Emilion. That was just beginning a decade ago, with the opening of a gorgeous cellar whose roof was covered with wild fl owers, bushes and trees. Now 1,000 fruit trees are planted in and around the vineyards. A tree’s root systems promote the growth of microscopic fungi that stimulate soil fertility by giving vines the trace and mineral elements they need. President Pierre Lurton and technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet plan a two-and-a-half mile green band of hedgerows to border the entire estate. Last fall Cheval Blanc released a 47-page manifesto to detail their e ff orts to fi nd long-term solutions to environmental issues created by climate change. One of them is agroforestry. The big takeaway: It’s all about taking inspiration for vineyards from nature.

One thousand fruit trees are planted in and around Château Cheval Blanc’s vineyards

Photos Cecile Burban, Deepix Studio