Vinification, Ageing

Before the wine harvest, we check the maturity of the grapes every week by means of analyses and by tasting the berries, so that we can choose the best date for the harvest. The harvest itself is carried out by hand, using small boxes. The harvesters then carefully sort the grapes on the vine.

When the red grapes, Côte-Rôtie and Coteaux du Lyonnais, arrive at the cellar, they are partially destemmed and crushed and then sent to the tanks using the gravity method. During fermentation we maintain a moderate temperature, and employ punching down and racking for a gentle extraction. We de-vat after two to four weeks for red wines, depending on the results of tastings. The wine is then put into barrels. Each year, 20 percent of the barrels are changed for new ones. Two-thirds of Condrieu wines are vinified in barrels and one third in stainless steel vats. For the most part, Coteaux du Lyonnais are aged in stainless steel tanks. We use indigenous yeasts for all our wines, because we believe that these are components of the land. We do the pressing using a vertical press, for the finest results.