Domaine de Suremain (Burgundy)(1)
By Bertrand Celce 2009-3-3 11:35:34
The Domaine de SuremainMonthélie, Côte de Beaune (Burgundy)
Monthelie (map)is a small village of the Côte de Beaune. It lies at only 1,5 kilometer from Meursault, which looks like a small town in comparison.
The Domaine de Suremain in Monthélie must not be mistaken for the same-name estate in Mercurey (Côte Chalonnaise) and which belongs to a cousin. This Côte de Beaune winery is a 10,5-hectare family estate with deep generational roots. The name Suremain comes from the French "sure main" or "sure hand" and may have been a proof of an ancestor's craftmanship. Today's owner, Eric de Suremain, took the reins of the estate in 1978 after spending some time in wineries in the United States. The estate makes Rully 1er Cru (white and red), Monthelie red and Monthelie 1er Cru red (plus Marc de Bourgogne & Ratafia).
After a few years, Eric decided in 1996 to fully implement an organic/biodynamic farming-management. Dominique de suremain, his wife, says that when her husband began to work here in 1978, he was using chemical products in the vineyard, but had always kept grass between the rows, using weedkillers only under the vines themselves. One day he was tired of this type of conventional farming and decided to change right away (he didn't begin with trials). Thierry Guyot in St Romain was a reference for Eric de Suremain and he was his counsel when he had doubts in the early years. Eric works in the cellar and in the vineyard, and they use external farm-management companies or individuals (tâcherons) to make the various tasks in the vineyard (because of dissuading laws and costs in hiring) and they have only two permanent staff who can work both in the cellar side and in the vineyard.
The Vatroom at Domaine de SuremainOur guest Dominique de Suremain shows us first the vatroom where lots of wooden tranconnic opent vats can be seen, all made by Grenier again. She says that many were old vats that were renovated by Grenier and she adds (we knew that already) that he doesn't alas has time now to renovate old vats, so they will buy him some of his vats fitted with stainless-steel openings and lid. Right now, there are 10 open wooden vats in this vatroom, plus 3 other in the next vatroom, which is under repair. Sizes vary, the biggest. They have too vertical, traditional presses [picture above - in the background]. For a few years, they worked with a pneumatic press that they bought in 2009 and then Eric decided to sell it and buy this vertical presses. He credits them for being much softer on the grapes, another thing being also that with the pneumatic press they had, the rebêchage (when the press sets by itself the stirring of the solid elements of the grapes and re-press them) was automatic, leaving at the end only almost dry grape shells. With the vertical press, it's easier to do exactly what you want. Of course, it is manual-work consuming, especially to empty it with forks, the chapeau, the hardened pressed-grapes being dense and tough. Also, the good thing with the vertical press she says, is that the juice gets somehow filtered through the solid parts, yielding much less lees, so the juice is clearer. Asked if the lees are not a desirable thing for the wine, she says that some lees are good, but on some years the lees being so-and-so, this system gives them more choice and adaptability. And on the whole, the lees are thinner and yield better results. They don't devote the presses for whites and reds and both can press both colors, it depends of which grapes and volumes are brought in.
From wineterroirs.com
