Productinformation
For Launay-Horiot, winemaking is an eternal interplay between vine, terroir, weather and the winemaker. The approach is respectful and deliberate, the soil is ploughed and treatments are limited to what is strictly necessary.
At the end of autumn, after harvesting and winemaking, they go back into the vineyard. The soil is nourished, plant material renewed and pruning is started. This substantial work is an essential investment for quality production.
All grapes are harvested by hand in small 11kg crates to arrive at the sorting table undamaged. After careful sorting, the grapes arrive intact in the barrels. There they undergo cold maceration before fermentation for 6-8 days. Pigages and pump-overs take place once or twice a day to achieve the desired extraction.
All wines mature for 12 to 16 months in oak barrels and then 1 to 2 months in casks before bottling. The proportion of new oak is adapted to each appellation and ranges from 15% to 75%.
Gevrey-Chambertin's nine grand cru vineyards together form a rectangle of about two kilometres by 500 metres. Le Chambertin(13.5ha) is the main grand cru vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin, one of the northernmost wine villages in the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy. The vineyard produces exclusively red wines and is without doubt one of the most prestigious in the Côte d'Or, rivalled only by the Grand Crus Romanée-Conti and Montrachet.
Clos Saint-Jacques, a premier cru vineyard widely regarded as one of the best sites in Gevrey-Chambertin, does not have grand cru status because it is not adjacent to Chambertin.
Chambertin's soils are well-drained and stony, with a thin layer of gravelly, calcareous topsoil on a deep rocky base. The percentage of clay decreases higher on the site, giving way to drier, looser limestone.
The entire Côte d'Or has a continental climate. Warm dry summers alternate with cool cool winters. The large temperature difference between day and night helps the vines maintain a balance of natural sugars and acids. The downside is that spring frosts are a particular threat; entire vintages have been lost to frost damage, and more recently to Burgundy's infamous hailstorms.