Merlot reserve 2023

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.

After fermentation the wine stays on the skins for ten to twenty days. Then it is pressed. After two days of settling it goes straight into the barrel.

Depending on the variety, 20 to 80 percent new barrels are used: more for full-bodied varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah, less for Pinot noir and St. Laurent. The vintage also plays a role.

We don't do malolactic fermentation during the alcoholic fermentation but afterwards in the barrel, over the first winter. The wine lies on the fine lees while it happens. Often it isn't finished until February, sometimes not until May. Only then do we sulphur for the first time. That saves a considerable amount of sulphur.

The wine stays on the fine lees in the barrel until shortly before bottling.