Potensac - Médoc 2014
The estate
Although close to the river, Potensac is situated on a high point of land in North Medoc. Planted on the best quality soils in the Ordonnac district, the vineyards now extend over 60 hectares mainly over hilly mounds with a limestone subsoil covered with clay and gravel outcrops containing a high proportion of gravel ("graves"). These limestone soils are very similar to those found in the Saint-Estèphe appellation. On this very special terroir, some plots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc planted over 80 years ago still produce perfectly ripe, healthy grapes. The hamlet of Potensac was already cited in the first edition of Féret for the special characteristics and longevity of its wines.
The vintage
The growth cycle for this 2014 vintage was two weeks ahead of the average over the past decade, due to a particularly mild and wet winter and warm weather in early spring. Cooler temperatures followed, especially in May, and slowed down the development until blossoming time. The beginning of the flowering was wet but beautiful weather soon arrived and allowed the last stages of the flowering to take place in excellent conditions and more quickly. A stormy period then set in through June and July with rain spells and some very hot days. The colour change was quite spun out over time but, just as the drier period had helped the flowering, the dry weather from late August through to the harvest, allowed the colour to even out at
the end of the colour change phase and enabled an excellent ripening with a good hydric stress to guarantee quality. In this vintage of extremely generous growth, the succession of two careful de-leafings and sucker removals ensured good permeability of the fruit-bearing zones and helped to maintain each of the grape varieties in excellent health until their optimum picking dates.