Even if the term macération carbonique sounds very high-tech, it is in fact a traditional method discovered accidentally. While trying to preserve grapes in large clay jars vingerons noticed that the grapes eventually turned into wine with a very pleasant fruity taste. This method has been utilized ever since in the Beaujolais region under the term of macération carbonique. It has been also the preferred vinification method utilized by the French producers of vin au naturel sans soufre, grouped around Jules Chauvet and Jacques Néauport. This natural wine was inspired by their approach and we neither finned or filtered it and no sulfur was added at all. Its content in the wine is a natural product of yeast metabolism.

The most beautiful and healthiest bunches were gently filled into a container from which the oxygen has been purged by carbon dioxide. This year we did not find too many of such bunches in the Portugieser vineyard, therefore we supplemented with few bunches of Dunaj and processed them together. Inside the berries intracellular fermentation took place guided by the grapes own enzymes, lending the wine its characteristic fruity fragrance and flavor, dominated by an enchanting aroma of blackberries. After about two weeks the grapes were pressed and the process was carried on by the yeast, which were impatiently waiting on the skins to get finally into contact with the must and perform their fermentation job. Thanks to the combination of these natural processes the wine was finished about two months after the harvest. Later we processed separately also few bunches of French hybrid and at the end decided to merge the young wines and create a cuvée with quite distinct character.

The exceptionally fast journey of the grapes from vineyard to bottle results in a fresh and light wine well suited for sipping along with meals or just for pleasure in the company of friends. Given the  low sulfur content, it will certainly not give you a headache. A veritable vin de soif et d’amitié!

During further maturation in the bottle, this young wine acquires interesting structure, texture and depth, without losing anything from its French charm …