ALOXE-CORTON 2019 Vieilles Vignes (Domaine Maillard)

TERROIR

The terroir of the ALOXE-CORTON designation is composed, on the surface, of brown limestone soils rich in clay and sometimes mixed with siliceous 'chaillots'. These are gravel silts resulting from the alteration or disintegration of the underlying substrate, a limestone called 'flaggy Bathonian limestone' whose sedimentation took place in the Middle Jurassic, about 167 million years ago, when the area was covered by a shallow and agitated sea.
This limestone is said to be 'flaggy limestone' due to the presence of numerous oyster shells debris which gives the rock an iridescent appearance.
Even though the silt top layer is weak, it is thick enough to mask the underlying Jurassic substrate.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The grapes are harvested manually and only the most beautiful and ripe bunches are kept. They are then vatted for a maceration of 12 to 15 days with temperature control.
One or two punching-down operations are carried out each day to break the marc cap which forms at the tank's top.

Once the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are finished, the must is drawn off into vats for a few days rest before starting an 18-month ageing in 228-liter barrels, half of which are new.
When the ageing phase is over, the must is drawn off and then bottled without fining but after just a light filtration.