Our expertise
“From one generation to the next, our family of winemakers passes down the expertise of the earth, the vine, and the wine.”
The Earth
The sloping vineyards are grassed every other row to limit erosion.
In the alternate row, during winter, we leave the pruned wood, which is then shredded in spring. This allows us to act on two points at once:
– on the one hand: to significantly reduce erosion in that row,
– on the other: to create an organic contribution thanks to the decomposition of the shredded wood, which largely replaces any other fertilizer input in the vineyards.
The remaining inputs are made exclusively with manure or amendments certified as “French organic farming”.
The Vine
The vineyards, a cherished heritage, have been the pride of the family for generations.
Old, very old, and younger ones… All the vines play an important role for the estate.
We cultivate the vineyards while preserving traditions but also modernizing. This seems necessary and essential for the conversion of our estate to organic viticulture.
Soil work is carried out only on the surface and as rarely as possible in order not to destroy the microbial life of the soil.
Successful trials have been conducted on part of the estate for the introduction of cover crops. The next step is to reproduce them on a larger scale, with the aim of naturally enriching our soils and keeping them healthy and alive for as long as possible.
The Wine
All the wines are vinified at the estate. We harvest the grapes slightly before full maturity to preserve the freshness and balance of Chardonnay.
A large part of the harvest is done by hand on the estate. The grapes are then quickly brought to the vat room for pressing without crushing, followed by the separation of the lees and the juices through static cold settling.
The rest of the vinification involves monitoring that the naturally present yeasts in the juice correctly transform the sugar into alcohol during alcoholic fermentation, and then ensuring that lactic bacteria convert malic acid into lactic acid.
The aging process continues for up to 12 months for the first cuvées bottled, and can last up to 36 months for the latest cuvées.
Corks & Packaging
The corks are divided into two ranges at the estate:
- for the entry-level wines, we use technical corks that provide perfect consistency and sealing, comparable to the finest natural corks used for the estate’s premium wines.
This choice was made after years of trials, but also with the aim of minimizing the use of sulfites.
- for the entry-level wines, we use technical corks that provide perfect consistency and sealing, comparable to the finest natural corks used for the estate’s premium wines.
- for the premium wines, we have chosen the finest natural corks: as long as possible (54mm), and as dense as possible (with density checks by our cork supplier), allowing the wines to age gracefully over the years until reaching their peak.
However, even though we ensure maximum protection of our wines with the noblest sealing material available, we are not immune to a “cork taint.” Should this occur, we invite you to contact us so we can exchange the bottle.
As for the cartons, the estate uses only 100% recycled and 100% recyclable packaging.
The Future
The Pascal Renaud estate hopes, in the short and medium term, to strengthen the marketing of its wines by diversifying its distribution channels.
Achieving the challenge of organic viticulture is a second objective, while maintaining acceptable yield levels that allow us to keep competitive prices.
We want to make sure that everyone can access our wines.
Finally, we plan to continue the reasonable expansion of the estate within the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation.
