“In the vineyards, our grandfathers’ exhausting work was facilitated with the arrival of mechanisation and modern sprays. Nowadays, however, these methods have shown their limits. I decided to revert to ploughing my vineyards and no longer use herbicides or insecticides in order to preserve the environment, our terroirs and the indigenous micro flora. For a number of years I have been coordinating specific tasks in the vineyards and the racking and bottling with the lunar cycle.
In the cellar, I like to link tradition with contemporary ideas: a number of years ago my father invested in a pneumatic press which is ideal for gentle, slow pressing of the must. Similarly, my stainless steel, temperature-controlled tanks enable all the vibrance and freshness of the aromas to be retained during the alcoholic fermentation.
The final phase of vinification and maturation is conducted in oak barrels of various ages and provenances. In this way, the wines express both their diversity and their complexity after 11 months of regular stirring of the lees.
I recently purchased a special, hi-tech filter so as to avoid stripping the wines of their flavour before bottling.” – Philippe Chavy
