Values, meticulousness, soul
Vine tending, vinification, craft secrets and bottling.
Vine tending
Observation has always been our first port of call to better protect both our crops and our terroirs.
Finding the perfect balance in our vineyards is a constant quest each year. As necessary, we move between innovative methods in our restructured vineyards and tradition in our very old renowned plantings, always prioritising biodiversity in our ecosystems.
Our estate is committed to using an environment friendly approach and is HVE3 certified – this certification stems from the Paris Environment Grenelle in 2007.
It allows us to identify and apply techniques that respect the environment and are centred on 3 main mechanisms: biodiversity coupled with fertilisation and water resource management.
Our environmental commitments are key to everything we do on the estate and we strive to continually reduce our carbon footprint.
Vinification, craft secrets
Grape picking on Domaine de Bel Air is unchanging. When the time comes, our staff fills out and around 40 ‘cutters’ wend their way through our vineyards in search of the grapes that have reached peak ripeness.
On average, the harvest takes three to four weeks. Fermentation, the trickiest and most mysterious stage of crafting wine, is in vats. Temperature control is essential: it allows us to retain the aromas, flavours and finesse specific to each terroir. Traditional vinification gives fruity, crunchy wines bursting with aromas and flavours. Maceration is semi-carbonic.
Pneumatic pressing is the gentlest way to extract the purest of juices. Each individual vat is monitored every day by our cellar master, closely following and analysing each parameter of fermentation. This can take only two weeks with the most active musts. Other, calmer, musts can take up to six weeks with fermentation coming naturally to its end.
Bottling
The wine will be bottled over the following months under the very best conditions. When it has been carefully bottled, it is time for each bottle to don its glad rags. Once the label is affixed and the capsule is sealed on, it is ready to bring joy all over the world.
