The Vineyard
La famille Delacour
Our Heritage
For over 20 years, we have been producing high-quality red wines from the richness of the Libourne terroir and blending of our fabulous grape varieties: merlot and cabernet franc.
We invite you to a walk in our vineyard through this website, enabling you to grasp our shared philosophy to elaborate fine terroir wines thanks to careful work and patience. “Great wines come from great terroirs.” A truism? Perhaps. Nevertheless, this quest for ripe, healthy, balanced fruit inspires us to dedicate our best efforts and knowledge to the vineyard.
Owners of two estates: Château de la Cour and Clos des Templiers, Vignobles de la Cour have been producing quality terroir wines for over 20 years to the delight of wine lovers.
Château de la Cour is a beautiful 10-hectare property located at the foot of Saint-Émilion within the communes of Vignonet and Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. 6.5 hectares are dedicated to the production of Château de la Cour Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and 3.5 hectares to Château de la Cour Saint-Émilion. In exceptional years, such as 2009 and 2005, the Château elaborates a special cuvée called “Le Joyau”.
In 1994, the Delacour family acquired a large property, Château la Rouchonne, which they transformed into a prestigious wine estate: Château de la Cour. The family coat of arms adorns the estate’s bottles with the motto “Honneur y gist”, a knight’s head and three silver hearts on an azure background. It recalls the story of Martin, who was knighted at the court of King Charles IX on 23 January 1563.
Under the management of Hugues Delacour, with passionate devotion and hard work, the property was entirely restructured, the vineyard modernised with new vine plantations and a higher trellising system.
Once Hugues Delacour optimised the production tool, he also restored the 19th-century residence, now ornamenting the bottle labels. Thus, from the very beginning, Château de la Cour has been appreciated for its quality and consistency in various cellars and restaurants in France and abroad.
Following in his brother’s footsteps, Bruno Delacour, the new manager, modernises the vineyards and continually moves forward to produce premium wines to the delight of wine enthusiasts.
Vignoble de la Cour
The Vineyard
Vignoble de la Cour
The Winery
The estate’s former owner used to take his harvest to the cooperative cellar in Saint- Émilion. In 1995, a modern and efficient vathouse was built to vinify the grapes harvested at optimum maturity.
It is fitted with stainless steel and concrete vats, allowing for parcel-based vinification. In addition, the fully modernised temperature control system ensures optimal regulation. The estate puts all its know-how and technological means at its disposal to constantly improve and refine the quintessential essence of its wines.
THE RICHNESS OF OUR TERROIR
The Soils
Perfect for vine growing, temperate oceanic climate combined with iron-rich gravelly-sandy and gravelly-clayey soils contribute to the richness of our terroir and, therefore, the intrinsic quality of our wines.
Nourishing our vineyard soils naturally involves cover-cropping and working the land with regular ploughing to maintain the soils’ microbial life.
We use small quantities of natural compost to enrich our soil and use mechanical weeding to preserve its quality.
UNDERSTANDING OUR ENVIRONMENT
The Vine
The vineyard management is carried out using a sustainable and prospective approach, based on observation and knowledge of the environment and the reintroduction of natural predators. The objective is to stop using insecticides and reduce other treatments. As well, rootstocks are renewed regularly.
Plantations are made in part from massal selection to retain genetic diversity, which adds complexity to the wines. We carry out a simple Guyot pruning according to the lunar calendar.
Vineyard winter work activity is performed with care by our team (grapevine pruning and training, etc.). Green harvesting is planned to ensure optimal harvest quality and good aeration of the bunches (de-budding, de-stemming, leaf removal). The grapevine canopy is controlled to increase exposed leaf surface area, optimising photosynthesis and thus allowing better grape cluster maturation.
THE PERFECT RIPENING
The Harvest
Grapes are harvested at optimal maturity and undergo successive sortings:
- A mechanical sorting to remove 90% of the unwanted elements such as green waste, foreign bodies and under-ripe or unhealthy berries; and
- A manual sorting to remove the rest of unwanted elements.
The average yields are:
- 40 hl/ha, as opposed to the 55 hl/ha, authorised for Saint-Émilion Grand Cru;
- 50 hl/ha, as opposed to the 65 hl/ha, authorised for Saint-Émilion; and
- 45 hl/ha compared to 65 hl/ha authorised for Lalande-de-Pomerol.
A METICULOUS SELECTION
The Vinification Process
Each parcel of land is vatted separately, allowing us to carry out an even more selective plot by plot vinification.
Vatting is long and divided into three steps:
- Pre-fermentation maceration at 110 °C to extract colour and fruit;
- Alcoholic fermentation which gives the tannic structure to the wines; and lastly,
- Extended post-fermentation maceration at 28 °C to bring roundness and suppleness to the wines.
No commercial yeast or lactic acid bacteria are used (natural fermentation with indigenous yeasts and bacteria from the terroir).
A minimal dose of sulphur dioxide is used to maintain the freshness of the fruit as much as possible.
Run-off separation between free-run juice and pressed juice.
Then, vertical pressing ensures the grape’s most delicate treatment, resulting in premium press juice.
MATURING & BOTTLING AT THE ESTATE
Maturing and Bottling
Our wines undergo a one-year maturing process:
- Saint-Émilion: in concrete vats to preserve the fruitiness and roundness;
- Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and Lalande-de-Pomerol: in French oak barrels to reinforce the aromatic expression and flavoursome complexity.
We introduce only 50% new barrels each year to favour the perfect harmony between wood and wine and select top-quality untreated corks.
Bottling is carried out in our winery by the estate’s team.
The production is then stored in our air-conditioned wine cellar maintained at a constant temperature of 15 °C.
We ship our wines in reinforced export cartons or wooden crates.
CERTIFIED WITH THE HIGHEST ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITION
Respect for the Environment
Today, an agroecological approach is an integral part of the wine production process. Therefore, we have committed ourselves to reducing phytosanitary inputs and improving our effluent treatment process for several years now.
We rely on observation and knowledge of the environment and the reintroduction of natural predators to do so. Our objective is to stop using insecticides and reduce other treatments.
We are certified “Haute Valeur Environnementale” since 2012.
The HVE (High Environmental Value) is the highest level of farm environmental certification in France. It measures the wine estate’s performance in phytosanitary strategy, biodiversity preservation, fertilisation and water resource management.
