RIPA SINISTRA 2017 (Yves CUILLERON)

DESCRIPTION

RIPA SINISTRA means left bank in Latin. This name, chosen deliberately, alludes to an history-filled place, since it seems to have borne the traces of a very old vineyard planted by the Romans and that disappeared towards the end of the 19th century.
This history-filled place is located on the hillsides that go up to the Seyssuel village built on the summit plateau dominating the vines.
This ancient and missing Roman vineyard were replanted by the estate in 1996.

TERROIR

The Seyssuel vineyard terroir was shaped during the Carboniferous era, between -400 and -300 million years, during the Hercynian chain formation. The collision between the two emerging continents, the Gondwana (South America & Africa) and the Laurasia (North America and Eurasia) led to the Hercynian chain genesis, subjecting the region of Vienna to a strong metamorphism of average pressure and high temperature.


The vineyard soil giving life to the Ripa Sinistra cuvée is made up of metamorphic rocks whose formation took place during this Hercynian genesis, and which are called amygdaloidal gneiss.
The gneiss is a grainy rock of the same composition as the granite, but some of its minerals have been stretched into an almond shape, reflecting an oriented pressure during the tectonic movements.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The grapes are cultivated according to the principles of the sustainable agriculture, the chemical treatments are done only when necessary, namely in case of highly unfavorable weather conditions.

The hillside slope does not allow any mechanization, the grapes are harvested manually.
They are then partially destemmed, then crushed, before being placed in open vats for three weeks during which the juice is in contact with the skins.
The alcoholic fermentation starts spontaneously under the action of the native yeasts, followed by the malolactic fermentation that generally ends during the ageing phase which takes place in oak barrels and lasts 18 months.