2020 Domaine Rollin Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc, Burgundy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

100% Chardonnay. This cuvée is from different hillside slopes within the appellation. The soils are lay-limestone, shallow, and lying on white limestone marls. For the most part, they are east-facing.

Harvesting is done by hand for the majority of the cuvée. Grapes are pressed slowly, to conserve their personality and their aromatic finesse. After light settling, musts ferment naturally in oak barrels (of which 10% is new oak). If the vintage demands it, lees can be put back in contact with the wine by lees-stirring, to continue enriching the wine. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally during the winter. The wine stays on its lees for 10-12 months before being racked and blended. Light filtration.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

In its present state, the Rollin domaine covers twelve hectares of vineyards, eight of which are owned with the other four being rented via the system of metayage or fermage. The vineyards are spread over five separate communes (Pernand Vergelesses, Savigny les Beaune, Echevronne, Aloxe Corton and Chorey les Beaune). The estate produces approximately 60,000 bottles per year across fourteen separate appellations!

The vineyard work is meticulous and, although not certified organic, the methodology in practice is applied in a manner designed to maximize the expression of terroir by eliminating (or reducing to an absolute minimum) any treatments in the vineyards. All grapes are harvested manually and fermentations proceed with indigenous yeasts. The white wines are pressed gently and undergo long fermentations in barrel (except for the Aligoté which is raised in stainless steel tanks) and are aged on the fine lees for twelve to fifteen months. The reds are hand-sorted in both the vineyard and at the cellar before being pressed. The maceration is long and the elevage is in small barrel with the malolactic fermentation occurring therein. In almost every instance, neither the white wines nor the red wines are fined or filtered.