Chardonnay selection 2024

The destemmer plucks the berries off rather than threshing them, and a hose pump moves the mash into the press without crushing it.

Instead of sulphuring the must, we work with must yeasts. The whole mash passes through a tube heat exchanger to below 15 °C. That cool, it can stand for four to twelve hours. After pressing we stir up the must again and again for six hours.

Fining is done with pure potato protein: our cellar works one hundred percent vegan. We don't use flotation, but let everything settle in the cold room instead.

Fermentation is done with a single neutral sparkling wine yeast, which we prepare at the start of harvest and then pass on from tank to tank. It's neutral so you taste the vineyard, not the yeast.

About half matures in wooden casks (500 litres), the other half in stainless steel. The steel share keeps the malic acid and with it the freshness; the wood share goes through malolactic fermentation over the winter. In summer the two parts are blended. That gives the balance between malic and lactic acid.

These wines usually come out of the barrels at the end of July, and bottling takes place at the end of August.