DOMAINE JEAN-PAUL PICARD, France

Today they passionately cultivate 14 hectares of vines, all of which are situated on the slopes of Bué and are amongst the best sites in the region. Guided by the lessons of the past and their artisanal knowledge, they practice ‘lutte raisonnée’ to preserve soil health and insist on manual harvesting of the grapes. One of the peculiarities of the Domaine is that they have a multitude of small parcels, each with their own character, and vinified according to their terroir and position. Each are vinified using indigenous yeasts in their modern gravity-fed winery, to produce high-quality, expressive wines, full of complexity.

Viticulture

The vines are cared for under the minimum intervention method. Half of the Domaine has a grass cover, particularly on the steeper slopes, as this helps limit erosion of the soil. They also plough the soils, de-compacting the top soils, which helps to develop micro-bacterial life. The "terres blanches" (white soils of limestone-clay), make full and powerful wines. These soils are mainly found on the steep slopes of the commune of Bué. The "caillottes" (small pebbles), are a very stony soil where limestone dominates, giving well balanced, very aromatic wines. They carry out harvesting by hand, doing the first sorting in the vineyard.

Winemaking

The Domaine benefits from having a modern and functional winery, including, amongst other things, the ability to work via gravity, and to allow the bottles to age slowly over time. Where ever possible, only indigenous yeasts are used.