Harmony between tradition and modernity

Viticulture

A team of wine-growers takes care of the vineyard with the traditional bourguignon know-how, the respect of various soils and the environment. Thanks to our low-yield and a careful sort out, our grapes concentrate fine and elegant aromas from our terroirs.

The Estate count 9 000 to 12 000 stems per hectares and 1.5% are renew each year.

Vines are pruning in guyot, desuckering, then training with the traditionnal burgundian technique.

2 or 3 mechanical toppings per year

Fertilisation is sustainable to get a better foliage, adapted to the real need of the vine. Thus we avoid the developpement of botrytis, which appears when the foliage is too dense.

An adjusted care of soils
Soils scraping is made following the soils nature in order to :
• Stop superficial roots and benefit from deep roots. So the vine can resist better to dryness.
• To air soils by a deep scraping and enable water to be absorbed by the soil.

Grape harvest : a double sorting in the vineyard

The grape harvest is mainly by hand, but sometimes it is mechanical following the health statement of grapes.
In general, we take into account the burgundian semi-continental climate, so it is essential to harvest quickly. The dry weather alternates quickly with rainy weather, but Pinot noir is a fragile grape-variety in contact with humidity.

The grape harvest is sorted twice. The grape picker are educated to grapes sorting, then their harvest is controlled a second time by a vintner of the Domain, on a sort table, put on the hopper.
To avoid maceration, the estate chooses hopper with flat-bottom, lift, and tipping.
When the hopper arrives to the vat room, grapes slide on the underpass approach of the destemmer by gravity, avoiding pummeling.

Qualification Project “Sustainable Agricultural Practices”

The Estate undertakes a Qualification Process in “Sustainable Agricultural Practices” adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Referentiel pilotage « Sustainable Viticulture and oenology » is based on the standard ISO 9002 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management). It implies a work organisation system, with a rationalized thinking to improve viticultural and oenologic practices in respecting uses and typicites of our appellations.

Vinification and Maturing

2 spacious vat rooms are equiped:
- A permanent thermoregulation of cold and warmth.
- The vat rooms for white wines are equiped with solenoid valves managed by computer.
- A foot bridge system to link vats
- 2 pneumatic machines to punch of the cap
- 14 concrete vats used for vinification
- 14 stainless steel vats with mobile cap for vinification and storage of wines.
- 3 stainless steel vats for the storage

This modern material enable us to make fine and exact work. So we can individualize cuvées and maintain a constant quality, in giving value to each Terroir and respecting the caracteristics of each vintage.

For Red Wines

Grapes are entirely destemmed, then vinified in concrete tanks. Punching of the cap and pumping over the cap are ajusted following daily tasting.

The maceration on skins lasts 3 to 5 days under 15°C, is followed by a fermentation at a maximum temperature of 33/34°C.
The period of vinification depends on vintages. It is during between 15 days to 3 weeks.

Then, wines are put for 12 months into french oak barrels, with a maximum of 5 to 10% of new oak. With the ageing, we are looking for a natural micro-oxygenation of wines, as elders were praticing.

We don’t use new oak barrel or we use a little (between 0 and 10%, following the vintages), because we would like to keep the freshness of the aromas and the natural tannic structure.

At the end of maturing, each cuvée is blended to repare it with care for bottling.

Fining depends on the tests made in laboratory. He determines if we make a fining or not, the type of fining and the dose.

Filtration is realized with the Kieselguhr’s method. Besides we use white earth only.

We bottle our wines with a process made by the laboratory.

For White Wines

Grapes are directly pressed with a Vaslin press. The must is put into the stainless steel vat to let the must settle from 15 to 18 hours, at 13/14°C.

Then, the must is racked to eliminate the sediment in the must. Later the vat is warmed at 18/19°C, then we add bourgundian yeast (Bougo blanc).

Temperation of vinification are between 18 and 21°C. The temperature control is regulated by a winegrowing software. At density 1040, a pumping over the cap is done to facilitate the end of the fementation.

As soon as the fermentation is over, wines are matured in oak barrels for 12 months in our old cellars volting from the begining of the XVII th century. The malolactic fermentation is naturally done during winter.

At the end of maturing, wines are blended per cuvée and prepared for the bottling.
The fining is done according to the test results, which are maked in the laboratory.

A cold-treatment is done to avoid later a precipitation into the bottle.

Logistic

The storage capacity is 120 000 bottles.
Total temperature control with a air-conditioned

Domaine Coste-Caumartin - Vins de Pommard
© 2008 - Création/Design