Domaine Florent Garaudet Monthelie 1er Cru La Taupine 2019

The vineyard is located in the Monthelie 1er Cru ‘climat’ of ‘La Taupine’, where the 35- year old vines are planted in clay-silty soils. The vines are sustainably cultivated to respect the equilibrium of the environment, with the objective of limiting treatments to what is strictly necessary to obtain a harvest in the best possible condition. Careful pruning ensures foliage is left from a height of one metre, so the grapes have sufficient leaves to synthesise the natural sugars. This labour intensive pruning also encourages aeration of the bunches and optimal sunlight exposure. 90% of the work is done by hand, and only by professionals using the purest Burgundian traditions, to ensure a modest yield of high quality, ripe fruit. Manually harvested at optimum maturity.

The 100% destemmed grapes spend 20 days undergoing cool pre-fermentation maceration, to extract the red fruit aromas and fine tannins. During maceration, ‘pigeage’ (punching down of the cap) took place once or twice per day. The marc was gently pressed at a pressure not exceeding 0.5 bar, to prevent vegetal aromas and bitterness. The must was gently racked into French oak via gravity, and the fine lees were carefully selected and placed in the barrels. Fermentation took place with wild yeasts present on the grape skins, producing the most authentic expression of the terroir. Vinification took place in the century-old, stone cellars which controls the alcoholic fermentation and malolactic conversion, due to the natural freshness and humidity of the stone. Matured in 228 litres French oak, of which 55% was new, the wine was bottled with minimal fining or filtration.