Imagine a vine that isn't straight like an “I”, but instead splits into two branches from the trunk to form a “Y”. This is the revolutionary idea of Montpelier viticulture professor Alain Carbonneau. Thanks to this new structure, as more leaves grow, the vines absorb more sunlight and produce riper, more flavourful grapes with silkier tannins.
The lyre was therefore an obvious choice in our quest to produce premium wines from some of the world's most demanding grape varieties.
With the advice of Professor Carbonneau himself, we designed the layout of the vineyard with vines that are airier, more widely spaced and that will become more vigorous over time. This gives Ysabeau’s vineyard an outstanding and atypical character in the Belgian vine-growing landscape.
-
Red wines
-
White wines
-
Rosé wines
-
Sparkling wines
Belgian vineyard with Lyre structure
The Lyre trellising system
The terroir
Our Syrah, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chenin vines were planted on an exceptional plot just a stone's throw from Durbuy. South-east-facing, with sloping ground and a substrate rich in outcropping stones that release the heat stored during the day in the evening, the vines have everything they need to reach their full potential.
Typical of the Condroz region, our subsoil is defined by the presence of sandstone, limestone and even schist. This mosaic of different sub-soils, which reminds us of the terroir of some of Alsace's grands crus, will enable the emergence of fine, elegant and complex wines.
Anti-frost aspersion
Ysabeau's terroir lies in a particularly chilly part of the kingdom. Producing wine in the Durbuy region therefore means preventing the buds from being damaged by spring frosts.
Ysabeau’s vineyard is equipped with an anti-frost aspersion system that brings water from a downhill pond and sprays it onto the vines during spring frosts. This creates an igloo-like shell of ice around the bud, protecting it from the cold and keeping it at positive temperatures.
Beehives and fruit trees
Vines love biodiversity. It allows them to flourish and better fight pests. Ysabeau’s vineyard has thus been designed to encourage exchanges between various plant and animal species. In addition to the hedges and woods that balance the surrounding flora and fauna, we plan to enrich this biodiversity by planting old species of fruit trees alongside which beehives will be installed.