Commitments

Since its 2016 vintage, Château Fleur Cardinale has held individual High Environmental Value certification. This recognises above all that the fundamentals of biodiversity are very widely in place on the estate.
Our certification is available here.

There is a permanent natural fallow area on the property, which is a green reserve, where no human intervention occurs and nature takes back what is hers.

We have implemented a range of measures to provide shelter and a source of food for a variety of macrofauna (earthworms, hares, birds, butterflies, tree frogs, etc.) and microfauna (bacteria and fungi). Such is the case with inter-row seedlings, which are mixtures of rye, vetch and red clover, but also oats, alfalfa, sainfoin, red clover and trefoil.

The seedlings return nutrients to the vine. They limit erosion and soil compaction, and improve soil porosity and bearing capacity. By providing shelter and a source of food, they encourage macrofauna (earthworms) and microfauna (bacteria, fungi).

In 2020, we planted 600 metres of hedgerow in our vineyard. The agro-environmental spin-off for this is the protection of certain vineyard plots from frost and the preservation of embankments that were in danger of collapsing, resulting in enhanced safety for our tractor drivers.

What’s more, these hedgerows contribute to biodiversity development. We have planted indigenous species, such as hazelnut, hornbeam, blackthorn, dogwood and wild cherry, which attract beneficial insects, pests and fauna living in the vines, in order to create a shelter for them.

Once the hedges have grown, we will ask an entomologist to come and perform an analysis of what benefits we have gained in the area of beneficial insects and pests.

As part of a partnership programme with the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux), the Conservatoire Botanique National Sud-Atlantique has carried out inventories of the wild flora present in vineyard plots in Gironde.

An observation of the plots of Château Fleur Cardinale was carried out in May 2020. This produced a total of 272 items of data relating to 114 different taxa collected in the plots sampled. We found edible species, such as nettle, alfalfa and leek, and species favouring wild pollination (andryala, common mallow and heal-all, among others), as well as species that are poisonous for human beings but useful for biodiversity, such as field bindweed, pot marigold and sun spurge.

We have set up in our vineyard several nesting boxes for bats as well as one for birds made from a 6-bottle wooden case of Château Fleur Cardinale, following the assembly plan of the cases of the 2018 vintage. We have also introduced insect houses in the vineyard and also on our landscaped terrace.

Our tracks and banks are mown or clipped as late as possible to allow birds and small animals to flourish. At the same time we have added to the already existing cherry trees and the small apple orchard by planting seven types of fruit trees around the chateau: apricots, figs, plums, pears, more cherry trees and nectarines.

We also let the parcels where the vines have been pulled up, lie fallow before planting young vines again. The fallow land with its wild flowers are sown with bee-forage species.