Place
Tailored Harvesting
First and foremost, we want to oversee the natural transformation of this fruit into a balanced wine, which is representative of its terroir and worthy of its rank among the best growths in our appellation
PICKING BY HAND
The harvest at Château Fleur Cardinale is done 100% by hand.
After a first sorting of the grapes in the vines, the harvest is done using small crates, which prevent any squashing or splitting of the berries and thus any premature oxidation of the juices.
METICULOUS SORTING
Once the fruit arrives at the cellars, the bunches pass through a new generation de-stemmer which also carries out a second sorting of the berries.
A ‘Tribaie’ densimetric sorting machine then performs a third sorting of the fruit.
An evenly ripe crop finally arrives at the vibrating table, on which a last manual sorting is done in order to remove any tiny residual green elements.
GRAVITY-FED VATTING
The berries finally fall into a special 5-hectolitre bin positioned at the end of the sorting line. This bin is then taken by fork lift truck to the vat room and lifted to the top of the vat. The filling of the vat is thus performed by gravity. It is a process which is fast and respectful of the fruit.
DES VINIFICATIONS RESPECTUEUSES DU FRUIT
We have 17 tronco-conical stainless steel vats with temperature-control from top to bottom, enabling greater precision in the management of temperatures and offering various extraction options during vinification. The vats are then maintained at a temperature of 5°C for 4 to 5 days for the first cold maceration, followed by the alcoholic fermentation for 7 to 10 days and then warm maceration for around 10 days.
“Pumping over” is performed by gravity, preventing the must from being “chewed” and avoiding stress on the yeast.
