CHÂTEAU CARBONNIEUXGrand Cru Classé De Graves

Pessac - Léognan

VINTAGE 2012

Château Carbonnieux in a few words...

Classified growth (Grand cru classé de Graves) in White and Red Appellation Pessac - Leognan

Vineyard area: 92 ha Red: 50 ha White : 42 ha

Soil: : Garonne gravel outcrop naturally drained by the Eau Blanche river Red: deep gravel and clay White: gravel and clay-limestone

Average age of vineyard: Red: 27 years White: 30 years

Hand harvesting: Selecting picking and double sorting in the vat room

Barrel ageing: Red: conventional barrels, 15 to 18 months white: 3 kinds of containers, 10 months, with lees stirring

Second wines: La Croix de Carbonnieux White and Red Château Tour Léognan White and Red

Owners: Family Perrin since 1956

2012, a year marked by the whims of the weather.The cold and wet spring made work in the vineyard difficult this year. Ripening was initially slow due to temperatures below seasonal averages, caught up later thanks to the warm and dry summer conditions. The harvest could therefore start at a date within our norms, neither early nor late.

The focus on crop thinning, painstaking monitoring of climate and winery conditions, flexibility of our harvest teams and investments in the cellar, along with the technical expertise of our new vineyard manager, allowed us to monitor the new vintage serenely and once again reach the optimal quality we seek to achieve at Carbonnieux.

2012

WINEMAKING – 1st TASTING

WHITE

Our white wine was matured in 30 aromatic batches in oak barrels of different volumes, with regular stirring of the lees. The use of barrels allows us to preserve maximum aromatic potential, while ensuring mild oakiness. We use 25% new oak each year.The typical features of the vintage for white wines are volume on the palate and a full-bodied structure. The distinctive aromatic features of sauvignon (boxwood, citrus fruit) are present, but not overly so. The sémillon is particularly flavourful, with touches of apricot and incredible volume on the palate.

RED

Here the merlots surprised us, revealing their true nature during pumping over with a deep intense colour, while the cabernets are fruity and full of character. They will call for slightly longer maturing than usual, but their strength will guarantee longevity in the bottle.Our red wine was matured in 25 aromatic batches. The proportion of new oak is still 35%.

ASSEMBLY

WHITE Sauvignon SémillonChâteau Carbonnieux Grand Cru Classé de Graves

RED Carbernet Merlot Cabernet Petit Verdot Sauvignon FrancChâteau Carbonnieux Grand Cru Classé de Graves

60% 5%

5% 5%

35%

40% 60%

70%

80%

10% 60%

40% 50%

30%

20%

30%

La Croix de Carbonnieux

Château Tour Léognan

La Croix de Carbonnieux

Château Tour Léognan

VINEYARD MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL DATA

5 June Beginning of flowering: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Full flowering: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sémillon

23 July Beginning of berry ripening: Merlot, Sauvignon

30 July Beginning of berry ripening: Sémillon, Cabernet Sauvignon

2012 ASSESSMENT

Bud break was at the usual dates but growth was slowed by low spring temperatures until June. The growth cycle caught up only after flowering. Our crop thinning teams then intensified their work to slow down the vine, rebalance the flow of sap to the grapes and control yields. The first berry ripening at the end of July and beginning of August led us to imagine that the harvest would be rather late. But the climate had a whimsical tendency to do its own thing, or rather, this year, to put things back into place. There was almost no rain from mid-July to mid-September, which was conducive to ripening and concentration of the grapes and allowed us to begin the harvest on 4 September, a normal date for the estate.

NEW IN 2012

A new consultation tool for planting of new plots was used for the first time in 2012. Thanks to Geocarta, Château Carbonnieux now has a new map showing soil resistivity. Carbonnieux owns 115 plots of different shapes and sizes. This tool is an additional key to help us in our choice of grape variety and root stock when we renew plots. The idea is to grow the most suitable grape variety in the best soil, so that the grapes can reveal all the excellence of their terroir.This vintage was also marked by the arrival of our new vineyard manager, Mr Magniez, who previously worked at the Rothschild family estates. Thanks to his experience, Frédéric Magniez very quickly took control of the vineyard and supervised the last work of the summer and the harvest with great expertise.

50

4

33,5

216

26,5

68,5

47,5

23,5

55

113

90,5

160

10

7,7

18,5

15,4

23,1

25,226,3

29,1

25,4

19,1

14,514,8

3,2

-3

2,6

6

10,9

13,8

12,2

14,5

11,59,8

5,3 4,5

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0102030405060708090

100110120130140150160170180190200210220230

Janvier Février Mars Avril Mai Juin Juillet Août Septembre Octobre Novembre Décembre

RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE 2012

pluie T° moyenne maxi T°moyenne mini

mm T°C

HARVEST - VINIFICATION

The harvest took about 6 weeks in total (from 4 September to 17 October), with an average of about sixty harvesters each day. The white varieties were picked in 15 days under a lovely September sun. We then waited a few days to allow the wet period of the end of September to pass and to ensure optimal ripeness of the red varieties before 14 days of picking.

WHITE Harvest date No. of % Alc. VA* PH batches Sauvignon 4-18 sept 20 13.2 0.2 3.25Sémillon 19-24 sept 10 13.0 0.15 3.3

*VA = Volatile Acidity

The acidity of the batches allowed gentle maceration on the skins. The average duration of fermentation was 8 days at a temperature of 18°C. The general balance of the batches is very harmonious. Generally speaking, the clayey-limestone soils (70% of the estate) gave better results, with lovely fresh grapes with very typical features and fine minerality.

RED Harvest date No. of % Alc. VA* TPI** Anthocyanins batches Merlot/Petit Verdot 1-8 oct 12 14.0 0.1 55 1200 mg/LCab S/Cab Fr 8-17 oct 13 12.9 0.15 60 1100 mg/L

**TPI = Total Polyphenol Index

For red wines, the vintage called for a great deal of precision in plot monitoring. Thanks to our Oenofoss analyser, we took approximately 300 readings (which is exceptionally high) and used the precise results obtained to implement “tailor-made” harvests, at the right place at the right time.Polyphenol analyses led us to undertake gentle extraction to obtain as much colour as possible at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation while limiting the extraction of astringent tannin. The result at the end of vatting lived up to our expectations, with an average TPI of 60 and anthocyanins at 1200 mg/L. Malolactic fermentation took a little longer to start but the entire production could be transferred to barrels in December.

NEW IN 2012

This year, we purchased a new generation stalk separator which offers flawless results during sorting.The berries remain intact, without any stalk residue. Qualitatively speaking, this is a clear advantage which marks a further step in the improvement of our vat room

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

Environment-friendly practices do not necessarily involve a flurry of activity. Above all, they consist of a multitude of gestures and habits to be reviewed in all fields.

Over the last 20 years, Château Carbonnieux has worked painstakingly to implement agriculture that is always smarter, more responsible and sustainable.

NEW IN 2012

2012 marks the end of the EMS audit for ISO 14001 certification. Today, all the waste produced on the estate is recycled in bins set aside for that purpose.

We use natural traps for the Asian hornet, an invasive insect that preys on bees. We have rehabilitated hives and a few fallow plots to protect endangered bees, foster biodiversity… and also enjoy our own honey!

Château CARBONNIEUXChemin de Peyssardet 33850 Léognan, France

Tél: 05 57 96 56 20 - Fax: 05 57 96 59 19Email: info@chateau-carbonnieux.fr

Website: www.carbonnieux.com