Our Expertise
Viticulture
The cultivation and harvesting of our grapes is artisanal and human sized.
The vineyard of Côte-Rôtie is very steep. No mechanization is possible and most of the work in our vineyards is done manually.
One man alone can take care of 2 ha per year, not more. In the terrace area, there is around 8000 vine branch per hectare.
We are far from industrial wine making. Due to the steep slopes, some of the work is unique to the Côte-Rôtie vineyards. Each vine branch is visited more than 20 times for various actions: winter pruning, fastening, “appalage”, “fichage”…
Vinification
Côte-Rôtie is the northernmost area where Syrah comes to maturity. In the north of Lyon, the grape doesn’t ripe fully.
To have rich and concentrated wines which age well, we have to be extra careful. The choice of variety of Syrah, yield control, quality of grapes, harvest date, etc. are very important.
We harvest each parcel at its best, usually during September and October.
Wine making: We do total destemming to avoid dry tannins. They are undesirable in young wine and they do not bring anything interesting during aging. We use only our wild yeast, because they are the part of the terroir / the appellation.
Moreover, they contribute to the vintage effect.
The maceration and the right temperature during the fermentation are very important to extract fruity aromas and soft tannins during the fermentation.
We use the technique of « pigeage » (punching of the cap) to extract colorants and aromas.
Alcoholic fermentation and maceration takes two weeks. When it is finished, it is time for devatting.
We mix the final blend after the malolactic fermentation to have a unique and balanced blend soon enough.
Aging
Our goal during the aging is to let express the vintage and the terroir through our wines.
The wine ages in oak barrels of 228 liters. We renew 20% of barrels each year. More than 20% of the new oak (flavor) would bring too much wooden flavor and it would erase the terroir and the vintage.
Every 3 months, we rack the wine in barrels to bring oxygen and to help the natural fining of the wine.
During that time, the wine evolves to find its balance in October. After 15 month, all the wine of that year is bottled at once. Early bottling allows our Côte Rôtie to age longer.
