The Process

THE VINEYARD

Our vineyards have been cultivated organically since 2002. Weeding is d o ne by a flock of sheep and mechanically after the vines are in bud. Organic matter is returned to the soil. We also follow biod ynamic principles applying homeopathic doses of the different preparations.

HARVEST

Individual bunches of grapes are harvested into crates in the cool of the morning, to arrive at the winery undamaged and at low temperature, thus avoiding oxidisation. A manual harvest is three times more expensive than using machines but it’s worth it to be able to start the winemaking process with the grapes in perfect condition.

NATURAL VINIFICATION

The use of indigenous yeasts, those that are naturally present on the grapes as they mature in the vineyards, allows the fermentation process to start and progress at its own speed. Our only intervention is temperature control via the cooling system integrated into our stainless steel tanks.

DESTEMMING AND CRUSH

The berries are stripped from the stems in the destemmer then the grapes are crushed very g ently in order to reduce the risk of astringence, before filling the stainless steel tanks by gravity.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL

When using natural yeasts and minimum sulphites, temperature control is one of the only weapons you have.

Maturation

Some wines li ke to pass the wi nter in wood and here we use 600 litre oak barrels from France’s renowned Allier region. To keep it subtle, only a small proportion of new oak is introduced into the cellar every year.