... but we are very concerned about the environment and the quality of our soil life. Micro-organisms are vital for the expression of the mineral notes in our wine (the terroir!). Without intense biological activity fostered by appropriate agricultural methods there would no great complex wine reflecting the special features of the soil.

All our soil is tilled or has grass between the rows. We earth the vines up in autumn and unearth them again in spring using ploughs.
We avoid using very heavy high-clearance tractors which pack down the earth. But as we are obliged to drive in the vineyards, thus compacting the earth a little, we regularly aerate the soil to ensure that microbial activity continues.

Since 1991, we have been making compost at Laroze every year in February. It is allowed to ferment, becoming humus, until around October or November when it is spread on the plots. We are one of the very few estates at Saint-Emilion to make compost.
Only our own compost is used to improve and feed the earth of Laroze.
We spread a little of it on all our plots every year, and not once every two or three years as some people still advise. Humans need to eat something every day for their daily energy requirements. Plants similarly find their balance through regular feeding.
As a result, our vineyards have achieved balanced vigour over the years to produce a quality crop with sensible yields.
Controlled vigour also reduces the vines’ vulnerability to cryptogamic diseases.

… has enabled us to change the proportion of grape varieties and improve the quality of plots which were lagging behind the others.
A simple and natural technique, it calls for a good deal of skill from the grafter and considerable monitoring of vines throughout their growth cycle.
Here we see the middle section of a vine plant. It has been peeled so that the grafter can clearly see the channels beneath in which sap flows and can choose the one which seems the most active. The success of the graft largely depends on this observation and choice.
In the centre we can see the section of stalk bearing a bud, which the grafter has just inserted into a slit so that it is in contact with this flow of sap. 
 
Using this method we are able to change the clone or grape variety of the vines without having to pull them up with their wires and without having to wait three years for the first harvest. In this way, we only miss out on one harvest while keeping the whole root system in place, which is an advantage in terms of resistance to drought and wine complexity. Success rates for the three plots where we used this technique over eight years are between 90 and 95%.  Once the graft is in place each vine stock requires manual attention on a weekly basis for two months, followed by less frequent treatment through to August. It’s very time-consuming work!