Okay, so the picture above - showing the "finished wine" in a celebration mode, is a little bit more attractive than the photo showing all the hard back breaking work below ...
... yet it's always interesting to contrast the two.
I first heard about the wines of Domaine Bize many years ago in Burgundy. The sommelier suggested a Savisgny les Beaune and mentioned that Bize was his favorite producer. I loved the wine and when I see it on the menu continue to order it. We will see what he has in store for us at La Paulee this year!
The domaine’s history begins in 1880 in Savigny les Beaune. Since then, the following generations have each contributed their hard work and knowledge to the development of the domaine.
1880, Great Grandfather Simon Bize owns a few vines; it was a difficult time in the viticultural world where all work was done by hand.
1918, Grandfather Simon Bize takes over and is able to purchases some new parcels. Horses and the arrival of new agricultural materials make vineyard work less difficult.
1950, Father Simon Bize is instrumental in the transformation of the domaine. An excellent winemaker, he decides to market his own wines, believing in the personal relationship between ‘winemaker and consumer’. His know-how allows him to establish a network of private customers and restaurants. The quality of his wines is recognized and appreciated by wine connoisseurs.
1972, Patrick Bize accomplishes his father’s projects. He builds a vinification facility (cuverie), expands the cellars and purchases new parcels, permitting him to propose an extended range of wine to the public.
Throughout the domaine’s history priority has always been placed on wine quality; the utmost care and attention focuses on vineyard work and winemaking.
Today the domaine is composed of 22 hectares (52.8 acres). Below is some information about the wines: the most interesting aspect to me are: the timing of battonage for whites depends on the vintage and what they are tasting, for reds phenolic ripeness is very important as they whole cluster press with stems; they punch down by human foot to avoid grinding the seeds and extracting bitter tannins, they rack their red wines only once at the end of the barrel aging period. I thought their fermentation temperatures a bit high (24 C for whites, 33 for reds) and will ask them about this.
Here is their method of vinification for white wines:
White wine vinification
Our principal concern is to harvest grapes with good acidity and sufficient ripeness. Coming as close as possible to the perfect balance between ripeness and acid levels is the base of our work. As is the case for our reds, our goal is to make precise, delicate wines, representative of their terroirs.
White grapes are immediately pressed upon arrival at the winery then the must is pumped to tank where it is cooled if necessary to 12° C to encourage natural sedimentation. After roughly 12 hours the must is débourbé: the bourbe or heavy lees have deposited at the base of the tank.
Only the fine, clear lees are kept and will nourish the wine throughout the barrel-aging period, until they are racked. This step is very important.
The decanted must is put directly into barrels in the cellar where alcoholic fermentation begins naturally three to four days later. The alcoholic fermentation lasts for an average of four to six weeks at a more or less stable temperature of 20°C to 24°C.
We consider that a wine is dry when it contains less than 3g/litre of residual sugar.
The wines are aged in barrel from six to 12 months, depending on the appellation.
In this period the wines become more refined and the oak characteristics better integrated.
WHITE WINE BARREL AGING
The barrels used for our white are between one and five years old, the proportion of new oak varies between 15% and 30%.
The Bourgogne Blancs remain in barrel for approximately six months then are assembled in tank to retain their freshness and fruity characteristics. The Villages, 1er Cru and Grand Crus need several months more in barrel to reveal their complexity.
Battonage (stirring up the lees in barrel) is not systematic, frequency and duration depending on the natural richness and acidities of the vintage. For this reason each cuvee is tasted regularly.
Malo-lactic fermentation takes place naturally, beginning as early as January and often finishing in the spring.
When we judge the barrel aging period sufficient for each appellation, the wines are racked to stainless-steel tank for the assemblage of each cuvée.
During the assemblage the wines are fined and filtered. After racking, certain appellations stay for a second aging term in tank on their fine lees for two to four additional months. During this period the wines become more refined and the oak characteristics better integrated.
RED WINE VINIFICATION
One of the domaine’s particularities is to work with whole clusters (non de-stemmed bunches) or partial whole clusters, based on the appellation and the vintage. In order to use whole clusters good phenolic ripeness is necessary to obtain quality tannins, needed for extraction.
We aim through our vinification to respect the diversity of our terroirs by seeking finesse and elegance rather than power and over-extraction.
Grapes are sorted upon arrival at the winery to eliminate any rot or under-ripe fruit. The sorted fruit is then dropped into wooden fermentation vats. Depending on the vintage we cool the temperature to roughly 15°C, where it stays for four to five days prior to fermentation.
At this stage we begin to gently punch down by foot to avoid excessive pressure, which might grind the seeds, a source of rustic, astringent tannins. During alcoholic fermentation, when temperatures rise to 33.34°C, colour, tannins and aromas are extracted from the grape. Alcoholic fermentation is natural and lasts between five and seven days.
When all of the sugar has been transformed to alcohol the temperature gradually decreases to 24°C, at which point, based on tasting, the new wine is de-vatted and pressed. The wine is then pumped into stainless steel tank where it is débourbé or decanted, then placed in oak barrels for an average of one year.
RED WINE BARREL AGING
We use very little or no new oak for the aging of our reds in order to preserve the typical aromas of the delicate Pinot Noir varietal. The oak barrels vary in age from one to six years old. Malo-lactic fermentation takes place between January and June, based on the appellation.
The reds are racked only once, at the end of the barrel aging period, for the assemble of each cuvé in stainless steel vats prior to bottling. Bottling is generally done between January and March; wines are neither fined nor filtered.