Vin de France Zénith
Baptiste Nayrand
Type
Orange Wine
Appellation
Vin de France
Variety
Chenin Blanc (skin-contact)
2020 was the first harvest of a small Chenin Blanc vineyard that Baptiste planted in Millery. He decided to make an experimental, light orange wine from 50% direct pressed and 50% macerated fruit (one month on the skins).
Viticulture
Vineyard name
Millery
Vine ageBaptiste is renting these vines.
Vineyard size6 ha total (domaine)
Vinification
50% maceration (one month) and 50% direct press, both native yeast fermentation with no added SO2 or temperature control, vinified entirely in fiberglass tanks. (Note: For the 50% macerated juice, Baptiste mentions a technique of “dry maceration,” spread out across a wide tank/surface, for gentle but concentrated infusion. The technique (Dry Carbo) prevents crushing the grapes, allowing for an intra-cellular fermentation that infuses delicate aromas and fine tannins. There are no punch downs or pumpover to enable slow infusion. The same technique was used for Sauvage, Nadir, and Terre Noire.)
Elevage6 months in 350L demi-muids
Harvest typeHand Harvested
Fining/FilteringUnfined. Light filtration and 1g of SO2 at bottling.
Additional info
Total production average2,000 bottles