The Pilosophy
Working with passion, Lavallée family takes great care of his vines throughout the year. They supervise and guide production to extract the best characteristics of the fruit during the harvest using advanced technology combined with traditional savoir faire to ensure the most typical expression of the wine and its appellation.
In 2021, Erick Lavallée passes the Estate to two of his children. With conviction, they both are committed to taking the Domaine to another level and act in favor of the environment.
The Domaine no longer uses herbicides or insecticides. Treatments are kept to a minimum and sulphur is preferred against downy mildew. Yet, copper is used sparely to avoid saturation and protect biodiversity. We also use small, light tractors to prevent soil compaction.
The wine making process
Once ripe, the grapes are mechanically harvested. The mechanization of this stage allows us to be very reactive and flexible with the harvest timing, especially during high heat periods, which are more and more frequent. This method prevents us from introducing hot grapes that could ferment and oxidize early.
The white grape varieties are pressed as soon as they arrive in the wine storehouse. The two pneumatic presses delicately release the juice without extracting the herbaceous aromas of the stems while limiting the oxidation.
After settling and under the action of native yeasts, the juice ferments in stainless steel vats or oak barrels according to the cuvées under controlled temperatures. This allows the natural aromas of the grape as well as the typicity of our terroirs. The wines are then aged on their lees for 8 to 18 months before bottling.
For the production of red wines, pinot noir macerates in cement vats for 2 to 4 weeks depending on the cuvées in order to give the juice its tannins and its deep color. It is punched and watered manually. Under the action of native yeasts, the juice turns into wine. Then comes the step of pressing then aging. Some cuvées are aged in oak barrels for a longer time, others in stainless steel vats to develop more fruity aromas.
Our winery is equipped with stainless steel vats from 200hl to 9hl so that each cuvée can be raised independently. As for the barrels, they rest in a vaulted cellar in the temperature and hygrometry optimal conditions. All our cuvées are produced without addition of yeast or bacteria. The fining operation that stabilizes the wine is carried out by adding bentonite and then eliminated by racking with light pumping. Before bottling, the wine undergoes a light filtering if necessary that will allow to make it across the years and borders!