Vinifications

The date of the harvest is determined by the maturity of the grapes, we look for aromatic maturity, as well as for the grapes’ potential in alcohol and their level of acidity, which are extremely important when making great wines for aging (“vins de garde”).

We harvest the grapes by hand in order to be able to select only the best grapes from the vine. The grapes are sorted for a second time back at the cellar before being pressed (for whites) and put into vat (for the reds).

To make the white wine, the grapes are very gently pressed using a pneumatic press, which extracts just the first juice.  The juice is left to settle overnight in cool temperatures and then put into barrel.  The fermentation takes place in oak barrels using natural yeast.  The wines are then matured for 18 months without being racked.  New oak is used for half of the Grand Crus, and one third of the Premiers Crus, but is not used for the smaller appellations.  For the remaining wines, older oak barrels are used, which have been used 1 to 4 times previously.  After maturation a rough filtration is carried out to ensure that the wines are visually attractive before being bottled.

The reds, after being vatted in a big wooden, cone shaped vats, undergo cold maceration for a week, after which, fermentation starts naturally.  They are taken out of vat after 3 weeks of maceration, after having been tasted. After being pressed the wines are put into oak barrel for a maturation period of around 24 months.  As for the whites, the new oak barrels are used for half of the Grands Crus, one third of the Premiers Crus, are not used for the smaller appellations.  For the remaining wines, older oak barrels are used, which have been used 1 to 4 times previously.  After maturation the wines are bottled without having been fined or filtered.