Au Quin Château, 2018

• Manual harvest. • Grapes were pressed in a pneumatic press. the juice underwent a cold settling for twenty-four hours. • Two months of cold (at minus 18°C) wild yeast fermentation in 50 hl thermo-regulated stainless-steel vat. • 11 months of lees ageing in stainless steel vat (without lees-stirring) one racking was carried out two full moons before bottling took place. • Filtration with Kieselghur, but no fining. • 3g of sulphur were added in this way: 2g once the malolactic fermentation had come to an end, and finally 1g at filtration. The name of this cuvée ‘Au Quin’ (pronounced Qaing as though it were written ‘Cain’ to rhyme with the French word for bread ‘Pain’), is the name of the plot of vines that produced it. ‘Au Quin’ is the traditional, local name for an area in the village of Cruzille. Julien explains that, in ancient times, it meant a place which would have contained a system of communication by fire with other villages across the valleys (it is a high area here (300 metres of altitude), and Julien explains that from where the parcel is located one has a view across three valleys, so Le Quin Château was a name for a viewpoint where a beacon was installed, there is, indeed, a château in Cruzille, built, no doubt, to take advantage of the excellent defence offered by such a high altitude. TASTING NOTE: on a general note regards the style of his wines, Julien declares: “I wish to produce wines for sharing, wines for drinkers, convivial, easy-flowing wines. To achieve this, we have to produce wines that are as stable as possible. We take risks in our vinifications, but the wines must remain simple and approachable, without any major fault, where any volatility or reduction that might arise remains under control “I have become extremely fond of the texture of a wine, of its silkiness, of its velvety texture. I like the salinity of a wine’s finish that brings with it a crystalline minerality, the perfect accompaniment to great cuisine, I aim for wines that have in their finish a true reflection of their terroir (granite, limestone and white clays), wines that are as authentic as possible. It is essential to have the reflection of the geology in each wine. The grape variety is, in fact, secondary, it accompanies the terroir, it is simply the vector”.