Saint-Véran
La Grande Bruyère 2017
This appellation truly fulfils all the conditions for greatness: terroir, human talent, success and ambition…
Origin
Born in 1971, the A.O.C. Saint-Véran covers nearly 600 hectares spread over six villages and takes its marks around the A.O.C. Pouilly-Fuissé. It takes its marks around the A.O.C. Pouilly-Fuissé and is divided into two large areas: in the north, near Davayé, there are very calcareous soils in the extension of Solutré, alternating with more clayey areas, this gives on the whole fairly fatty wines. In the south, near Chasselas and Saint-Véran, there is also a diversity in the soils with perhaps more clay than in the north. The wines here are marked by more mineral aromas.
"Grande Bruyère" is located on the northern part of the appellation, in the town of Davayé. The soil is of a marly-limestone nature comprising siliceous stones which gives rich and powerful wines.
Viticulture
Grape variety: chardonnay
Soils: clay limestone.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 13 September 2017.
The grapes were handpicked and were sorted a first time in the vineyard and a second time when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: The whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels of 450L with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 13 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. 10% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: Oak of French origin toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was bentonite fined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in December 2018.
Number of bottles: 1,600.
Vintage
2017, finesse
The growing cycle was thrown off-kilter by a very cold winter, late spring frost, then optimal conditions for rapid flowering, sporadic hail, and summer drought. Harvesting began in early September in the sun, and after several lean years, the vines finally produced abundant grapes, although with significant differences in maturity between whites and reds and from one region to another, which called for strict sorting.
Ageing potential: from 3 to 6 years.
Tasting notes
The color is pale yellow with green reflections. The nose will seduce you with its aromas of white flowers, citrus fruits associated with notes of yellow fruits as well as some buttery notes. On the palate, the wine is quite round with good tension and good length.
