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Welcome
at
Château Turcaud |
Maurice
Robert |
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Simone & Maurice Robert
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Isabelle & Stéphane |
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Small
stories...
At 75 years old, Maurice Robert, is a hale, passionate
and an experimented man.
Originally from Charente Maritime, he was raised in a family of six
children between Saintes and Cognac.
From his youth he spent much of his time with his cousins, wine growers
at Saint Laurent de Cognac. It is there that he catches the virus
of the vines, near his relatives who lengthily explains to him all
the secrecies of his trade.
After the agricultural school in Saintes, the taste of adventure grew
and he dreamt of Australia... Although, it is in Morocco during 2
years that he first leant farming within a large 3000 ha cereal exploitation.
On returning to France after a stay at Mc McCormick, he is a chief
of culture during 6 years at Bégoin, producer of Pineau and
cognac at Jonzac. Then he managed the Chateau of Cadillac in Fronsadais
for West-Indian investors. He is finally close to a major professional,
André Lurton, until 1978 and acquires a great experience as
a wine grower. |
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This
experience, Maurice and Simone Robert will invest it in acquiring
in 1973 a small-scale farming at “La Sauve Majeure”: the
Chateau Turcaud. The property then counts only 7ha50 of vines. Five
years later, in 1978 the surface passes to 17ha. Today the Robert’s
Vineyards count 45 ha with 17 ha of white vines and 28 ha of red vines.
The local soil, with gravel earth and silico-argilo calcareous, lends
itself traditionally to good white wines but also produces excellent
reds. This is why the production of Chateau Turcaud enjoys an excellent
notoriety for its white as well as for its reds, which are regularly
referred to in professional magazines and rewarded in the Open Competition
of Paris as well as of Aquitaine. It is the result of the harmonious
mixture of passion, fruit of the experience and family investment.
Always supported and surrounded by his wife Simone, it is today to
their daughter Isabelle and to their son-in-law Stephan, that Maurice
Robert transmits the fruit of his experience. Thus, the team of the
Robert’s Vineyards observes, adapts and develops the best techniques
of wine making and breeding which make all the quality and the specificity
of the wines of the Château Turcaud. |
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| The crop |
Thinning out leaves |
Wine harvest |
New wine |
Wood barre |
The cut |
Welcome and taste |
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Secrecies of Turcaud...
In the quality of the grapes above all, even
if that requires often more labour than the one employed by the
vineyard. The focus is laid on the limitation of the outputs with
limited manures and the practice of the green harvest during the
summer. Leaf stripping is then severe during the summer, until the
grape harvest, to air the bunch, to support maturity and to bring
light. We also manually removes, according to needs', the immature
or damaged grapes by making them fall right before the harvest.
It is here that the technique joins the experiment for tending to
excellence.
The grape harvest is carried out mechanically since 1986 what allows
harvest to take place on the D-day with full maturity under optimal
conditions.
The use of pneumatic presses makes it possible to carry out macerations
with the skin during 18h to 24 hours before pressing the juice in
a very soft way in order to extract more fruit, flavours and fat...
Our vats are equipped with thermal
regulators. That maintains the white juices at 10/12 °C for
decantation.
The clarified whites are then tapped after 24h for the elimination
of the slime then fermented at 18°C to keep the flavours and
the fruit and are then deposited on yeast in order to obtain more
roundness and savours.
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Bordeaux Blanc makes its fermentation
directly in barrel, and remains there during 6 to 7 months afterwards
in the course of the breeding process. It is beaten with a stick
every week to suspend the dregs what brings balance and complexity
to this wine.
The Reds as for them, are maintained
at 25°C/28°C during the alcoholic fermentation which lasts
15 to 20 days.
Bordeaux Rouge raised for 1/3 in barrels
is then assembled with the wines of vats before setting in bottles,
which takes place 18 to 24 months after harvest.
Bordeaux Supérieur" Cuvée
Majeure " is raised in new barrels for half and one-year barrel
for the other, during 2 years. This vintage comes from the most
gravelled land exposed North-South.
The barrels of oak used in Turcaud
come from several suppliers in order to vary savours and to make
them more complex. Each wood origin brings complementarities.
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Reportages
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Visit
our wines
storehouses
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See the the bottling
process
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