DOMITILLA 2018 (Domaine Ad Fines)

DESCRIPTION

DOMITILLA is made of a majority of Serine (ancestral variety of Syrah) and a few Cabernet Sauvignon that the low percentage in the blend does not prevent from expressing itself with intensity.

The Serine vines were obtained by massal selection from a root-stock of the Bonnivières area belonging to the Yves Cuilleron estate.

TERROIR

The vines are planted on gentle, well-exposed slopes on the northern slopes of the Luberon, in the heart of Provence, where the soil is made up of greenish sandstone mollasses dating from the Burdigalian period, a geological stage dating from the Lower Miocene (23 to 15 million years ago) during which the sea invaded the Rhone Valley where it deposited numerous sediments.

These mollasses are a group of sedimentary rocks that are essentially detrital, i.e. they come from the sedimentation in a shallow marine environment of elements torn from the surrounding rocks by erosion. They are generally friable, soft and permeable, and represent a valuable source of water for the vines.

The day-night temperature differences that occur from August onwards allow a slow and progressive ripening of the grapes that generally reach maturity towards the end of September-beginning of October.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

The vines have always been cultivated without the use of synthetic chemicals. Their yield does not exceed 30 hl/ha, allowing the production of ripe and concentrated grapes, rich in aromas.
The grapes are harvested by hand and vatted within an hour. Each plot and each variety is vinified separately.

The Serine grapes are destemmed at 70%, the Cabernet Sauvignon is totally destemmed.
After a cold pre-fermentation phase, the alcoholic fermentation starts spontaneously under the action of indigenous yeasts.

The skin maceration lasts 28 days for the Serine and 16 days for the Cabernet Sauvignon.
During this period, some  pumping over and gentle punching down operations are carried out in order to break the marc cap and mix the skins with the juice.

Once the fermentations are complete, the musts of the Serine and the Cabernet Sauvignon are transferred for a part in a new half-muid and for the other part in Burgundian barrels of two wines. The maturation lasts 12 months.

They are then racked and blended in vats where they remain for an extra 9 month-ageing before bottling.