Pinot blanc
White wine from Côtes de Meuse
the Alsace grape variety made in Lorraine
Pinot Blanc is the “sister” of Pinot Noir and shares many of its family “problems”. It is quite susceptible to disease and we think that to get the most out of it, you really have to make an extra effort in the vineyard. So, like Pinot Noir, everything is thinned into shoots and clusters. This means that we can bring it into the cellar with a nice purity of fruit as well as a nice concentration.
AuVigne
The Pinot blanc was planted in 1982 on stony clay-limestone soil, facing south. It matures less early than the Auxerrois. in this particular plot, we have a very strong diversity in terms of maturity. the grapes at the top of the hill are very ripe with a strong expression of exotic fruits and the grapes at the bottom of the hill are slightly "greener" with an aromatic expression of apple and citrus fruits such as nectarine and grapefruit.
Winemaking
The Pinot blanc grape varieties are the last white grape varieties to enter the cellar. Some years, when we are lucky enough to have lots of sunny days, we save grapes to get an extra level of ripeness and harvest them a month or two later to make late harvest wine. it is a great grape variety with a very strong aromatic expression and a great structure which comes from the limestone soil on which it grows.
the grapes are carefully hand picked, entering the winery in the press and remaining for a short maceration time in the press in order to capture the aromatic compound from the grape skins. then gently pressed for more than four hours to convey only the fine part of the juice into the tank.
Once in vats, it tends to "take its time" in fermentation and it is not uncommon to have fermentations lasting more than 6 months starting in September and ending in spring.
it is truly a spring wine, spending the winter in vats it tends to close like a flower keeping the natural gas created during fermentation and when the cellar temperature begins to rise in spring, we begin to wake up and express your potential.
the wine remaining on fine lees for at least 6 months in order to soften the structure of its tannins before bottling.
