Domaine du Chardon Bleu, Blanc, Chuchotis, AOC Grignan-les-Adhémar, Blanc, 2022

A wine that very gently whispers to you its fresh and generous array of aromas and flavours

The glorious sunshine and rainy thunderstorms in 2020 resulted in a great harvest and a vintage that is correct and full of ripe fruit

Domaine Chardon Bleu is situated in La Drome Provencale (Central Rhone Valley) and the extreme east of the appellation Grignan les Adhémar.

The vines used to make cuvée Chuchotis, which are around thirty years old, are planted at La Roche Saint Secret, in the district known as "la bourre".

The thirty-year-old vines are planted at an altitude of 350 meters with a full southern exposure. The stony ground, revealing a lot of ancient sediments (fossilized ammonites ..)

The tillage (working of the soil) is mechanical. Every one in two rows of vines Manu leaves grass to grow and he plants cover crops...this assisting in limiting erosion and naturally enriching the soil.

The treatments used on the soils are La bouillie bordelaise (a fungicide based on copper sulphate and lime) help combat diseases caused by fungi such as late blight,

Regarding the maturity of the grapes this is defined by regular sampling and the harvest date is defined collegially in line with the results from analysis of the samples. The point referred to as "optimum maturity" is defined by comparing the sugar rate and the rate of probable alcohol and acidity of the grapes.

15/09/20

The Roussanne and Viognier grapes are harvested separately, because they are not ripe at the same time. They are pressed as soon as they enter the cellar, which allows the maximum amount of fruit to be preserved and oxidation to be limited.

After settling for 48 hours at 6 ° C, the must is racked, the vats are assembled and fermentation begins for a period of approximately three weeks, with two pumping-over daily.

Fermentations take place between 18 and 20 degrees, to preserve the fruit and the sharpness of the aromas, they last about 3 weeks.

We limit inputs as much as possible during our vinification (2 g of SO2 at harvest time, 2 g after FA to avoid malolactic fermentation and preserve freshness and adjustment before bottling).

Cuvée Chuchotis is bottled in January to allow the wine to rest in the bottle, and to be ready to be tasted and appreciated (in moderation) on sunny days!