Savoir-faire

Vinification White wines

Our principal concern is to harvest grapes with good acidity and sufficient ripeness. Coming as close as possible to the perfect balance between these elements is the basis 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 transferred to tank where it is cooled to 12° C to encourage natural sedimentation. After roughly 12 hours the must is débourbé: the bourbe or heavy lees have settled to the base of the tank.

Only the fine, clear lees are kept. They will nourish the wine throughout the barrel-aging period until they are racked. This step is very important.

The decanted must is transferred 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 relatively stable temperature of 20°C to 24°C.

The wines are aged in barrel from 9 to 15 months, depending on the appellation.

Barrel aging White wines

The barrels used for our white range from one to five years old, the proportion of new oak varies between 15% and 30%.

The Bourgogne Blancs remain in barrel for approximately 9 months and are then 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.

Malolactic fermentation takes place naturally, beginning as early as January and often finishing in the spring.

When we judge the barrels to have aged sufficiently for each appellation, the wines are racked to stainless-steel tanks for the assembly of each cuvée.

During the assemblage the wines are occasionally lightly filtered. After racking, certain appellations are returned for a second aging 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.

Vinification Red wines

One of the Domain’s particularities is our work with whole clusters (non de-stemmed bunches) or partial whole clusters, based on the appellation and the vintage.

Throughout our vinification we aim 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.

At this stage we begin to gently punch down by foot so as to avoid applying excessive pressure to the grapes. This prevents the seeds from grinding – a source of rustic, astringent tannins. Alcoholic fermentation then follows as temperatures rise to 33.34°C, during which color, tannins, and aromas are extracted from the grape. Alcoholic fermentation occurs naturally and lasts between five and seven days.

Once 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 transferred into stainless steel tanks where it is débourbé or decanted, then placed in oak barrels for an average of one year.

Barrel aging Red wines

We use very little to 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. Malolactic 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. Each cuvée is then assembled in stainless steel vats prior to bottling.

Bottling is generally done between January and March; wines are neither fined nor filtered.