Vinification
of our red wines
The directive in the winery is to make sure to tell the story of thesegrapes which have been picked when ripe. Like a biography, the wine speaks of the characteristics of Pinot Noir in relationship to its environment. This context includes : weather conditions, the place where the story develops, the soil and subsoil which have nourished the grapes and the various pressures to be faced throughout the season.
To manage this best, we exert ourselves to accompany the grapes, intervening as little as possible, towards their transformation into wine.
In tank after tank, the bunches of grapes are piled up carefully because we work with 100% whole bunches and without the addition of sulphur. The grapes we work with are healthy, wholesome and alive. We prepare a pied de cuve(1) made from each plot to start the alcoholic fermentation off rapidly.
Thus each tank is seeded with the natural yeasts which link each cuvée to its own soil.
During the alcoholic fermentation(2) we only rarely interact with the contents, preferring nature to take its course. The only thing, with a view to bringing oxygen to the yeasts, is to carry out a pumping over(3). Depending on the breaking down of the skins and the evolution of the stems, we may carry out a punching down, the objective being to break the berries up gently to liberate sugar so as to maintain the alcoholic fermentation.
Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the must has become wine. It is time to take it out of the tank. The free run juice is drawn off and the marc (grape skins) is pressed. The press wine will be blended back with the free run juice according to quality and tasting. The transformation is complete. The wine is ready to go to barrel to be seasoned over time. The malolactic fermentation(4) gets underway when spring arrives, when milder temperatures will allow bacterial activity.
Maturation and Bottling
We work closely with a local cooper for the fabrication of our Burgundian barrels. We take part in deciding on the level of barrel toast which brings its own aspect to the aromatics of the wine. The wine spends approximately 13 months in these 228 litre wooden containers. The wine undergoes a micro-oxygenation phenomenon, caused by air passing between the interior and the exterior of the barrel. This is even more true when the barrel is new. That is why the proportion of new barrel varies according to the appellation and especially to the structure of the wine.
Having filtered the wine, it is bottled, with respect to the cycle of the moon which even here has an influence on liquids. The idea being to induce a message of closing down or opening up as the wine is kept over a period of time.
(1) Starter coming from the grapes of the Domaine which permits the yeasts to multiply.
(2) Transformation of the sugars into alcohol through the yeasts.
(3) Drench the cap with the grape juice
(4) Natural deacidification of the wine
Jean-Pierre Guyon
11 et 16 route nationale 74
21700 Vosne-Romanée - France
Call us
Tel : 03 80 61 02 46