Grower Website Rocher Corbin Region: France - Bordeaux

Domaine de Rocher Corbin is a former farmstead of the Château Corbin, fiefdom of the Lord of Corbin in the Middle Ages. This property was acquired in the 1880s by Charles Durand. For four generations, Rocher Corbin has been passed down from father to son, with the same passion for vines and wine.

Since 1986, Philippe Durand has devoted himself to the modernization of the property, with the greatest respect for the terroir, the environment, and the traditional practices of vine cultivation.

Rocher Corbin, a 10-hectare (25.95 acres) property, stretches along the west coast of the Tertre de Calon, one of the highest points in the region, in the heart of the Montagne-Saint Emilion appellation, a few kilometers from Saint-Emilion, on the right bank of the Dordogne. This prime location, with great sun exposure, and well-draining clay-limestone soils make it a great terroir for the grape varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) of the estate. The average vine age is 45 years with old vines ranging from 80 to over 140 years old.

VINEYARDS
Mr. Durand’s improvements in the vineyard include natural ground cover between the vines, de-budding, short pruning and removing leaves to reach natural low yields. Philippe uses organic agricultural practices.

WINERY
The grapes are hand harvested in 10-kilo baskets to avoid damage. At harvest, the grapes are first manually selected, then sorted before de-stemming to eliminate any small withered berries, and finally undergo an additional manual sorting of each berry to eliminate any possibility of remaining stems. The wine then undergoes pre-cold maceration and 5-week maceration in temperature controlled tanks. Micro aeration and part of the malo-lactic fermentation is done in new oak barrels. The wine is then aged 12 to 14 months in French oak barrels, 40 to 50% new. Barrels from a mix of coopers, Alary, Sylvain, Taransaud & Saury, are added each year.