In order to make wines that truly reflect their origins we believe that the winemaking process should be as minimalist as possible. A more interventionist approach has been adopted in more recent times largely to cope with industrial production.
By making smaller quantities we can afford to be more careful when harvesting and as a result make no additions to fermentations. No cooling is used, letting the yeasts naturally occurring on the grapes ferment at whatever rate and temperature results from the types of yeast present and the ambient temperatures. This more hands-off approach is by definition more uncertain than taking a more controlling role, but we believe it results in a more authentic wine.
The skill lies in understanding the grapes that have been harvested and rather than imposing your will on the grapes, rather provide them with an appropriate environment to develop into the most appropriate wine based on the harvest itself.
Wood in the form of barrels provides an important component to the wine but is there to complement the grape and not dominate. For this reason we use only French oak which contains more structural components and contributes less flavourants than its American counterpart. We also aim to maintain a good proportion of well tempered barrels and larger formats where possible.
