| Cultivation system |
This wine has the noblest pedigree imaginable, coming as it does from the Côte de Nuits. The grapes were grown on old vines on which specified growing techniques were used: controlled yields due to severe disbudding, cluster thinning if necessary, working of the soil, little or no use of fertilisers, environmentally friendly pest management that respects beneficial wildlife. |
| Production technique |
The vatting room, designed according to time-honoured Burgundy tradition, first entered service for the 2002 harvest. Surrounded by courtyards and gardens, cellars and vines, it is located at the very heart of Nuits-Saint-Georges. 41 wooden vats, each with a capacity of 5-18 barrels, make it possible to process different batches separately, as required by the diversity of Burgundy's terroirs. Why wood ? Not for its aesthetic appeal, but rather because wood has an inertness which suits the vinification process perfectly. More than thirty different appellations are vinified here, always in small batches (an average of 11 barrels per cuvée). We have fragmented our approach to such an extent that within a well-specified appellation, we vinify several batches separately. The aim of this is to obtain a cuvée which represents its terroir as authentically as possible. The grapes - and then the wines - are always pumped by gravity out of respect for the raw material, to avoid unsettling the Pinot Noir, with its particular sensitivity to exposure to air. The grapes are vatted by gravity, a system which is used up until bottling - which takes place in the cellar. |
| Vinification |
End of September. The grapes were handpicked and collected in 20-kg perforated crates. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and a second time on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery. At the winery: The grapes were completely destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasted a total of 23 days including one week of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). Infrequent punching of the cap. |
| Ageing |
The wine is aged in barriques for 16/18 months, using a rather low proportion of new woods (less than 20%). |