VINIFICATION Philosophy : Vinification grape-variety by grape-variety. Type of tanks : 17th Century stone tanks, carefully scalded before harvest time. Fermenting : Slow and long maceration - 4/7 weeks depending on the type of grape, with regular pumping over of the must and punching of the cap in the fermenting vat. Temperature: around 30°/32°C with peaks at 34/35°C. Pressing : Pneumatic press since 1994. Elimination in the second wine of the juice that does not meet standards for the preparation of the 'Grand vin' (highest quality wine). Malo-lactic fermentation : Since 1994, fermentation takes place in barrels for the syrah and mourvedre and in tanks for the other grape-varieties. MATURING Maturing : Le Prieuré in barrels, La Chapelle in vats. Age and type of barrels : a third new wood, a third one-year old wood, a third two-year old wood. Maturing in Burgundy barrels (2.28 hl) and 300-l barrels (6 hl). Barrels of oak from the forests of Tronçais and Bertranges made by François Frères, coopers in Saint-Romain/Beaune. Minimal heating so the wine is matured without the distinctive taste of Bébian being altered by an over-pronounced woody flavour. Maturing period : 6 to 18 months depending on varieties. Blend composition : 'Le Prieuré Red" : 40/50% grenache, 30/40% syrah, 10/20% mourvèdre. 'La Chapelle" : 35% cinsault-carignan, 65% young grenache and syrah vines. "La Chapelle White" : 60% roussane, 10% clairette, 10% white grenache, 10% picpoul, 10% bourboulenc. Filtration : Minimal filtration for "La Chapelle". Le Prieuré is bottled non-filtered. Furthermore, the natural layout of our winery with 3 partly bied levels, enables us to bottle the wines using gravity without resorting to pumps. This means total respect for the wine. Bottling : Just one bottling at the winery since the 95, 18 months after the harvest. < Home