| Soil composition |
Limestone topped with black volcanic soil. |
| Harvest |
The fruit is hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then fermented in an open-top fermenter. |
| Vinification |
Between 40 to 50 per cent of the fruit is stemmed and then cold soaked for four days. Only the natural yeast is used for the fermentation process, which takes roughly 12 days. Grape-stomping (known as pigeage) occurs two or three times a day, depending on the amount of extraction required, and the wine is then placed in 50 to 60 per cent gravity in new Allier barrels. It is racked by gas after secondary fermentation, then again at 18 months to be bottled. |