Production

5 distinct vineyards : Patache d'Aux, Leboscq, Liversan, Lacombe Noaillac and Lieujean.

4 production sites : Patache d'Aux (where Leboscq is also vinified), Liversan, Lacombe and Lieujean.

All our production is vinified in our cellar. The bottling is done on our property. Only "Patache", which is a blending of several of our wines, can be assembled and bottled in the Michel Lynch Cellar in Macau.

Technicians are trained to cultural and oenological modern practices.

HACCP and Quality strict procedures allow the traceability and client satisfaction.

Olivier Sempé our technical director supervises all the Châteaux, and makes sure everything goes according to planned production stages.

Distribution

The distribution is completely dedicated to our production. Domaines Lapalu is able to offer services that each client is entitled to receive.

As an individual or a professional, in France or abroad, the representatives that you will contact are all specialists in their own field.

Aline Caussan assisted by Nathalie is in charged of direct sales to individuals.

Luc Etienne Lapère assisted by Sylvie and Laetitia is in charge of cellars, restaurants and wholesalers in France.

Pierre Courdurié assisted by Verena and Alexandra is in charge of export.

Marc Ferté General Manager, assisted by Cathy Liger coordinates all sales activities.

Jean-Michel Lapalu president of the company, in collaboration with each department and individual, is always looking into improving the overall activities.

History

Established in the Medoc since 1964, the Lapalu family cultivates now several Medoc and Haut-Medoc vineyards.

1964 Claude Lapalu comes back from Tunisia where his family had lived for the past few generations, and buys out with friends Château Patache d'Aux, Cru Bourgeois Supéreieur in Bégadan.

1972 Acquisition of Château Leboscq Cru Bourgeois in St Christoly.

1979 Jean-Michel Lapalu son of Claude Lapalu buys out Château Lacombe Noaillac located north of Jau-Dignac-Loirac, and replants the vineyard that was neglected until then.

1992 Jean-Michel Lapalu succeeds to his father at the head of Château Patache d'Aux.

1995 Purchase of Château Liversan, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, Haut-Medoc in Saint Sauveur, and Château Fonpiqueyre.

1999 Acquisition of Château Lieujean, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc and Château Lagrave, next to Château Liversan.

2001 The family entity becomes the "Domaines Lapalu" company, and manages the production and distribution of the above mentioned Châteaux.

2003 Marc Ferté joins the group as the General Manager. Originally from Picardie, Marc Ferté has been in the wine trade for a long time and has acquired excellent experience during the years that he worked for the Champagne houses.

For the past forty years, the Lapalu family developped its wine growing activity in preserving authenticity.

Philosophy

Les Domaines Lapalu :
A production of authentic wines, elaborated in the respect of human and nature.

Authentic Wines:

Wines coming from the transformation of the harvest of an identified vineyard. Each vineyard has its own characteristics and the winemaker has to produce the same characteristics in the finished product.

This way, the clayey and chalky soil of Patache d'Aux and its grape varieties where the Cabernet Sauvignon is more present, produces powerful wines that present a remarkable aptitude for ageing.

The finesse and elegance of Liversan are linked to the thin gravel on a chalk subsoil and to the balance of Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon.

In conserving the personality of each of these vineyards, and looking to improve their style, we hope to propose to every clients nice gustatory sensations that each can adapt to various moments of their lives.

Elaborated in the respect of nature and human beings :

The methods used needs to respect the natural habitat and have the least harmful repercussions as possible on the environment.

A quality chart of Domaines Lapalu organizes and forecasts the technical solutions to each production stage. The great principles are those of a production integrated to the environment and consumers.

Each stage from planting to bottling are analyzed and good practices are written to allow each manager to retain and adapt the best solution to the issue.

The recordings allow the traceability of various operations at each stage of production.

The consumer safety is guaranteed by the application of the HACCP norms to the vineyard and cellar by trained personnel.

The respect of the environment is guaranteed by the management of effluents to private purification plants; the other wastes are treated by specialized companies.

Technical

Internal technical regulations of Domaines Lapalu

Each and all human activity generates harmful effects on our environment.

Agriculture and wine growing are not exempt from this rule.

"Nous n'héritons pas de la terre de nos ancêtres, mais nous l'empruntons à nos enfants" from French author St Exupéry that we could translate as follows: We do not inherit the land from our ancestors but we borrow it from our children. We looked into the following problematic:

How to produce each year an optimum quality harvest making sure that future generations will be able to do the same?

In studying each stage of our activity, we have created an internal regulations book.

It specifies cultural and oenological good practices, and makes sure that our activity will have as little harmful repercussions as possible on our environment.

For example, in the vineyard, in order to fight against our principal ennemy, the downy mildew, we will select the phytosanitary product in which the active matter will deteriorate the most, in order to spread as little toxic waste as possible into nature.

The choice of the product depends on its potential secondary effects especially on insects and toxicity levels for humans.

We will check the evolution of the parasite according to meteorological conditions in order to intervene when necessary.

We will only use perfectly regulated measuring device to use only the necessary product directly sprayed on the plant.

Security instructions will be applied for all personnel using treatment product or playing a part in the vineyard.

Finally, our team is trained in respect of security instructions and integrated production techniques.

Another example, all our buildings sheltering technical installations from vinification to bottling are tied to a toxic waste station that treats discharge before letting it go into the environment.

Parallel to that, solutions to save water are adopted on all production sites.

To obtain the result that we waited for, it is necessary for everyone to use such practices, thus information is given daily by our management team.