Château DE LA RIVIERE 1999
In 1999, the property of Château De La Rivière was managed by the Leprince family, of which Jean Leprince had been managing director of the Pinault group between 1972 and 1988. He became known in the Bordeaux region from 1994 for his trading activities in wines. He was also the owner of several renowned castles, trading houses, a crate factory and a cooperage as well as a printing house. He enlarged the vineyard to bring it to 55 hectares and carried out major work to develop the château and the winery. He used the advice of Michel Rolland and allowed a qualitative evolution of his wines.
The 1999 vintage is a blend of Merlot (84%), Malbec (2%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%) and Cabernet Franc (8%). The vinification is carried out in wooden vats and stainless steel with filling by gravity. The alcoholic fermentation and maceration last 4 weeks with temperature control. Aging is 15 months in new French oak barrels (40% by volume) with malolactic fermentation and aging on lees for 2 months, and 12 months for 1 year barrels (60% by volume).