The domain
Son of a cooper and winemaker, Louis Picamelot was among the first rullyotins to start producing Bourgogne Mousseux in 1926. In 1948 and 1949, bottles of Bourgogne Mousseux Louis Picamelot were loaded into the holds of ships chartered for Paul Emile-Victor's first expeditions to Antarctica. The House of Picamelot has been managed since 1987 by Philippe Chautard, grandson of Louis Picamelot. Surrounded by a talented, solid and warm team, Philippe Chautard produces each year vintage crémants of exceptional quality, regularly awarded in numerous competitions.
Terroir and breeding
Made from grapes from the Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, with 85 % Chardonnay and 15 % Aligoté (average yield = 60hl/ha). The harvest, strictly manual, started on August 26th 2015, in small openwork boxes to preserve the whole and intact berries, avoiding any risk of oxidation and allowing the separation of the juices.
The juice is extracted in a pneumatic press: only the first press juices, called "Coeur de Cuvée" are kept, giving a juice yield of 75 litres of base wine for 150 kg of pressed grapes. The musts are then placed in stainless steel vats for natural cold settling (24 hours). 19% of the base wines are vinified in barrels, the rest in vats. Once fermentation is complete, the wines are blended and bottled on September 7, 2016, capped, with the addition of a mixture of sugars and yeasts. The bottles will remain lying on slats for a minimum of 36 months at a temperature between 12 and 15°C to allow the foam to set. At the end of this process, the bottles will be stirred and put on tips, in order to concentrate the deposit of lees in the neck of the bottles, a deposit which will be evacuated by the disgorging. Before the final corking and dressing, the bottles are stirred, then disgorged and dosed between 3 g and 5 g/l depending on the maturing process.
Tasting notes
The green gold colour sparkles to the eye. The fine and generous bubble is persistent. On the palate, fine citrus fruit and white flower flavours (honeysuckle, acacia...) blend harmoniously. This Cuvee is best enjoyed on the flute but it is not its destiny: a Crémant for gourmets par excellence, it will accompany the finest dishes to perfection.