Wine Article

This wine is created with Sauternes in mind. The Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes are left out well after everything else has been picked until they become infected with Botrytis Cinerea, or “noble rot.” This rot is only welcomed when making this style of wine and requires a very specific sequence of environmental conditions to flourish in order to concentrate the sugars in the grapes. When grapes become infected with Botrytis, it begins to concentrate the fruit, however, the right conditions do not always naturally occur to provide the level of sugars needed. So, to assist this process, Clos LaChance cut the fruiting canes near the trunk, essentially halting nutrients and water absorption to the grapes. Then, they leave the grapes out on the vine for another week or two to further concentrate the sugars, some actually begin to raisin a bit. This combination of Botrytis and desiccation creates grapes that aren’t pretty to look at but with sugar values in excess of 36 degrees brix. Upon pressing, the wine ferments in stainless tanks until the right balance of sugar to alcohol is achieved. The wine is then aged in used French oak barrels for 12 months prior to bottling.