Domaine Bertrand et Axelle Machard de Gramont

Domaine Bertrand et Axelle Machard de Gramont

The Estate

Bertrand Machard de Gramont created the estate in 1984 after having worked in Chambolle Musigny at Comte de Vogue. In 2001, the production area was expanded to 6 hectares thanks to the spectacular replanting on the terraces of the “Vallerots” plot, on virgin soil which had been partly abandoned since Phylloxera. Bertrand’s daughter, Axelle Machard de Gramont, is the current owner and winemaker of the domaine. As the granddaughter of a Dufouleur, Axelle has winemaking in her blood, however when she was 20, she took what became a 15-year hiatus to Paris where she became a real city girl. Living there made her aware of ecology and also gave her the opportunity to taste organic wines which were just becoming popular in Paris wine bars at the time. She returned to the domaine in 2004 to join her father in the family business. It was due to her – and despite concern from her father – that the domaine converted to organic production, and was certified in 2014. Today she runs the domaine and she ferments all her wines using natural yeast. Where new oak is used, it is done so sparingly, and all the wine is unfined and unfiltered with limited amounts of sulfur. Very minimal intervention is the goal.

Harvest

Harvest time is generally in the second part of September. The grapes are hand picked by a team of 20 people and gathered into 30 kilogram boxes. Generally, the Hauts-Prûliers plot is harvested first as these grapes always mature the earliest, due to the south-eastern exposure and protection by a high wall. The last vineyards to be harvested are Les Vallerots and Les Terrasses des Vallerots, as they are planted at one of the highest points in the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation.

Vinification

The harvest is 100% destemmed, then the grape bunches are placed in large wooden tanks. The juice is put in a cooling unit to lower the temperature to 6-8 °C. The alcoholic fermentation period lasts around 2 weeks; punching the cap and pumping-over are both carried out. Then devatting and pressing are done before settling of the juice in a sedimentation tank.

Aging

The wine is put into 228 liter oak barrels; most of them are second hand barrels (to avoid too much woody taste). There is no racking after the malolactic fermentation. After 18-20 months, each barrel is racked and put in a tank for blending. Sulfur is added before bottling on premises; no fining or filtration.