37 Roussette de Savoie AC 2009
Gilles Berlioz

Grape:100% Altesse (12% alc.)

Bone dry with a touch more body than the basic Chignin, this has an intriguing nose, richness with a hint of spice (altesse is akin to the pinot gris) and lovely white fruits with good relief from acidity on the finish. For drinking now to 2014.

Technical Information
Winemaker:	Gilles Berlioz
Location:	Le Viviers, Chignin. Parcel called ‘Les Crays’. Very windy weather
Size of domaine:	3 hectares (sold 2.8 hectares of vines to concentrate on producing top level wines and convert to agro-bio) (0.15 hectares of Roussette)
Grape:	Altesse – 12 year old vines. Rootstock 3309, massale selection. 9000 vines per hectare.
Terroir:	Argilo calcaire, 80cm of soil over limestone base – 30% gradient. South-west aspect
Viticulture:	Practiced bio-dynamic viticulture since 2006 and certified Eco-cert (organic). Ploughs and hoes the soil. 4 to 5 bunches of grapes per vine, or 35 hectos per hectare. Debuds, but never vendanges en vert, and leaf thins towards the end of August, looking for maximum aeration of the grape bunch. Hand harvested in 2 tries.
Vinification:	Long 5 hours pressing with a pneumatic press. Uses minimal sulphur dioxide. Indigenous natural yeasts, no chaptalisation, and the wine is neither acidified or de-acidified. Cuve fermented at 18°C for one month. Gravity rather than pumping. Malolactic completed 100%. Racked once after malos. Stays on the fine lees until April then filtered (but never fined) and bottled according to the lunar cycle at the end fo the month. 700 bottles produced.
Press:

 

qty (bottles)

exc vat: £12.83