Ageing

Lalande de Pomerol wines are meant to be aged. Their ageing potential is proof of our winemaking skill, and winelovers who wait to drink our wines prove that they respect what we do. Enormous care is taken in the cellar to ensure the wine is well made: excellent hygiene as regards vats, pipes and pumps, meticulous racking every three months, carefully-dosed aeration, fining, light filtering, etc.

Each winegrower chooses the ideal percentage of new barrels - always made out of the finest close-grained oak- that will give the desired amount of oak tannins and flavour.

Barrel-ageing lasts from 18 to 24 months, after which the wine is bottled. The cellarmaster keeps a close eye on all cellar operations.
Then, it is time to bottle the wine. This is a delicate operation and must be followed very closely. Hygiene and the quality of corks are very important to the wine's ageing potential. At this stage, the wine is ready to age in bottle. Its development depends on conditions in the cellar (little variation in temperature, reasonable humidity, cleanliness, etc.).
Different châteaux are able to offer wines of varying ages. The oldest wines are the most expensive, but they are also the most subtle and delicious.