CHATEAU YON LAVALLADE
Appellation Saint-Emilion Contrôlée.

GRAPE VARIETIES : 75 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Franc, 5 % Cabernet Sauvignon

SOIL AND REGION : Château Yon Lavallade is situated in the parish of Saint-Christophe des Bardes, near Saint Emilion. The vineyard, whose vines are 35 years old on average, is in a single unit lying on the side of a hill. The principal grape variety is the Merlot, which is the ideal variety for the St Emilion region and the clay-limestone soil produces sappy full-bodied wines with beautiful balance and great ageing potential in bottle.

WINEMAKING : The winemaking is done traditionally in order to attain a perfect balance between the fruit and the structure. After a pre-maceration of 4 days, the alcoholic fermentation took place at a high temperature (30°C) with twice daily pumping over. A long maceration time (4 weeks) was needed to obtain the desired structure. After malolactic fermentation, the different lots were blended and the wine was aged in tanks for 18 months before bottling.