Bernard Fleuriet et Fils

Supplier/Importer: Tenzing Imports

Region: Loire Valley, France

Appellations: Sancerre

Since 1991, our estate, which was originally a farm, has planted vines on 20 ha of sloped and fallow land in the Sancerre appellation in addition to 3 ha in Menetou-Salon.

 Divided among 35 parcels, our vines are planted on south or south-east facing slopes in the three main terroir of the Sancerre appellation.

The three soil profiles - 10% flint, 50% stony calcareous “Caillottes” and 40% “Terres Blanches” (white earth) - are highly representative of the region’s typicity and diversity, allowing us to create blends that boast great complexity and elegant subtlety.

Our white wines are made exclusively with Sauvignon Blanc grapes while Pinot Noir is used for our reds and rosés. The wines are bottled at the estate beginning in the month of May following the harvest of the white grapes and beginning in August for the reds.

The harvest usually begins between 15 and 20 September. The grapes are all handpicked which allows us to select healthy grapes while treating them with the utmost care (there is less oxidation with grapes that arrive whole and undamaged). Once the grapes arrive at the winery, they are sorted by hand and transferred to tanks using a conveyor belt in order to avoid any crushing.

Given our concern for the environment and our high standards of quality, we no longer use herbicides and we limit our use of pesticides as much as possible. The domain is in conversion to an Organic Process.

When the slope is steep, fescue and meadow grass are grown between the rows of vines and the soil is hoed around their base. Where the slope is less pronounced, grass is left to grow naturally between the rows. We produce between 30 and 55 hl/ha depending on the wine, the vineyard and the year.

Our new winery (2008) is outfitted solely with temperature-controlled concrete tanks. We chose this material for quality reasons and for the fact that it allows optimal development of our wines. Protected by the concrete’s thickness and density, the wine does not undergo any thermic shock due to external temperature variations and is able to develop favorably due to naturally occurring micro-oxygenation resulting from the concrete’s porosity. This produces more “open” wines with a more stable bouquet.

Vinification

The whites are vinified at low temperatures (15° to 18°C) in order to preserve a maximum of aromas and flavors. They are then aged on the lees until May/June when they are bottled. The reds are fermented in vat for 25 to 35 days with 10 days of pre-fermentation cold maceration. Some of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrels while the rest remains in tanks.

All of our wines have a residual sugar level of less than 2 g/l, are bottled in Burgundy-style bottles, and are corked with long, top-quality natural corks.