Wine Making
   
 
  White Wine Vinification

Our principal concern is to harvest grapes with good acidity and sufficient ripeness. Coming as close as possible to the perfect balance between ripeness and acid levels is the base of our work.
As is the case for our reds, our goal is to make precise, delicate wines, representative of their terroirs.

White grapes are immediately pressed upon arrival at the winery then the must is pumped to tank where it is cooled if necessary to 12° C to encourage natural sedimentation.

After roughly 12 hours the must is débourbé: the bourbe or heavy lees have deposited at the base of the tank. Only the fine, clear lees are kept and will nourish the wine throughout the barrel-aging period, until they are racked. This step is very important.

The decanted must is put directly into barrels in the cellar where alcoholic fermentation begins naturally three to four days later. The alcoholic fermentation lasts for an average of four to six weeks at a more or less stable temperature of 20°C to 24°C. We consider that a wine is dry when it contains less than 3g/litre of residual sugar. The wines are aged in barrel from six to 12 months, depending on the appellation.

 
   
 
Red Wine Vinification
  

One of the domaine’s particularities is to work with whole clusters (non de-stemmed bunches) or partial whole clusters, based on the appellation and the vintage. In order to use whole clusters good phenolic ripeness is necessary to obtain quality tannins, needed for extraction.

We aim through our vinification to respect the diversity of our terroirs by seeking finesse and elegance rather than power and over-extraction.

Grapes are sorted upon arrival at the winery to eliminate any rot or under-ripe fruit. The sorted fruit is then dropped into wooden fermentation vats. Depending on the vintage we cool the temperature to roughly 15°C, where it stays for four to five days prior to fermentation. At this stage we begin to gently punch down by foot to avoid excessive pressure, which might grind the seeds, a source of rustic, astringent tannins. During alcoholic fermentation, when temperatures rise to 33.34°C, colour, tannins and aromas are extracted from the grape. Alcoholic fermentation is natural and lasts between five and seven days.

When all of the sugar has been transformed to alcohol the temperature gradually decreases to 24°C, at which point, based on tasting, the new wine is de-vatted and pressed. The wine is then pumped into stainless steel tank where it is débourbé or decanted, then placed in oak barrels for an average of one year.

 
   
 
Red Wine barrel aging
  

We use very little or no new oak for the aging of our reds in order to preserve the typical aromas of the delicate Pinot Noir varietal. The oak barrels vary in age from one to six years old. Malo-lactic fermentation takes place between January and June, based on the appellation.

The reds are racked only once, at the end of the barrel aging period, for the assemble of each cuvé in stainless steel vats prior to bottling. Bottling is generally done between January and March; wines are neither fined nor filtered.

 
White Wine barrel aging
 
The barrels used for our white are between one and five years old, the proportion of new oak varies between 15% and 30%. The Bourgogne Blancs remain in barrel for approximately six months then are assembled in tank to retain their freshness and fruity characteristics. The Villages, 1er Cru and Grand Crus need several months more in barrel to reveal their complexity.

Battonage (stirring up the lees in barrel) is not systematic, frequency and duration depending on the natural richness and acidities of the vintage. For this reason each cuvee is tasted regularly.
Battonage (stirring up the lees in barrel) is not systematic, frequency and duration depending on the natural richness and acidities of the vintage. For this reason each cuvee is tasted regularly.

Malo-lactic fermentation takes place naturally, beginning as early as January and often finishing in the spring. When we judge the barrel aging period sufficient for each appellation, the wines are racked to stainless-steel tank for the assemblage of each cuvée. During the assemblage the wines are fined and filtered. After racking, certain appellations stay for a second aging term in tank on their fine lees for two to four additional months. During this period the wines become more refined and the oak characteristics better integrated.