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When Laurent and Blandine Metge-Toppin
bought this estate in the mountains their dream
was to have a family home in the heart of France.
With Laurent’s experience, as a wine maker,
and with his wide knowledge of the wine trade,
and being a Frenchman, the first goal was to produce
a quality wine.
“I studied the land in every part,
alluvium of granite schiste and clay, on steep
slope hills facing the "Levant" (east,
where the sun rises), and looked at the age of
the vines (35 to 80 years old).”
Because the soil is relatively poor, yields are
quite small 45 to 50 hl/ha.
“I found out that at 450 to 550 meters
above the sea level, the grapes matured slowly,
and harvest takes place usually two to three weeks
after the vineyards situated in the valley. Because
the maturation is slow, there is more concentration
of fruit and a higher acidity.”
Many reports from well-known scientists around
the world show that the consumption of red wines
on a daily basis can increase longevity, by reducing
heart diseases. The most recent work of Professor
Roger Corder from the Department of Experimental
Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute
in London received the Geoffrey Roberts Award,
in 2002. This study indicates that wines made
from grapes grown at higher altitudes tend to
have even greater potential to prevent vascular
changes associated with heart disease. This study
underpinned what was already known; that UV light
stimulates polyphenol synthesis in grapes. This
active ingredient occurs in vines at higher altitude,
which are exposed, to more intense UV light.
“When you are on the estate, you can
see the Alps, on the other side of the Saône
River. In the summer it is easy to see the morning
mist, and in winter it is a perpetual fog in the
valley. We are always above the clouds, it is
why our vines are in direct contact with the sun,
and have a better UV light exposure, we are making
wines here which if consumed moderately have the
properties to make us centenarians.”
Extensive grapes selection with the optimum
maturity are enforced on the estate.
Some plots which are producing straight Beaujolais
will in the future make only light wines, with
good fruits and crisp acidity.
After two harvests it has been decided that these
plots will make only Rosé wines.
The older vines (50 to 80 years old) will produce,
after 12 days of semi carbonic maceration, wines
with a good intensity, red berry and plummy aromas
on the nose, with some spices at the finish.
Not exactly what we expect from a wine produced
from Gamay grapes.
Bottled generally the following year after Easter,
the wines “pinote”, it means that
miraculously it takes on a character of a pinot
noir grown on the hills of Burgundy.
Laurent believes in very simple principles:
- Only grapes with the optimum maturity are
retained for use in our wine
making processeses (the lower the yield the
better it is).
- Strict control of temperature during fermentation
is very important.
- After one racking and a perfect "ouillage"
we leave the wines for 6 months in the constant
temperate vaulted cellars.
- After bottling, the wine is laid down to rest,
so that it can reveal its full potential. (Usually
our wines are at their best, after 12 months
in bottles.)
“We are not expecting to make a grand
cru classé wine in our mountains, but a
good well balanced red wine, to be enjoyed with
friends until we are 100 years old and in good
shape, is our only wish.”
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