Jean-Marc Vincent
Jean-Marc and Anne-Marie are dedicated vignerons whose attention to detail is bringing quality improvements year on year and making wines that transcend the appellation. A mark of their success this year was that they achieved normal yields and ripeness in a challenging year.
They harvested from 13th September. The pinots produced 27-28hl/ha and 13-13.5% potential alcohol and chardonnays 35-40hl/ha and 12.5%. Neither were chaptalised. They even snipped off leaves by hand that got attacked by mildew. This is grand cru viticulture. They and the team work 900 hours/ha, double that of the norm, in the vineyards. They are advocates of high-density planting, 14,000 vines/ha or more (the norm is 10,000). Half the domaine is tressé (which adds another 300 hours/ha), which entails not cutting the branch tips to a neat hedge but allowing them to grow. This reduces berry size, improves acidity and requires less water. This work costs money and is reflected in the quality and price of the wines. These high-density vineyards after five to eight years are starting to rival the older vineyards planted in 1936 and 1949.
For white wines, they pick ripe and golden, for full flavour, crush and then press the grapes hard to extract phenolics, which helps build structure, as acidity is lower in ripe grapes. They wait for full phenolic maturity in reds, harvesting a little later than some to ensure ripe tannins and used about 50% whole-bunch fermentation this year. They are extending maturation in barrel from 12 to 18 months for the top wines which are now lodged in 500-litre barrels. The whites are bottled with Diam corks.