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%.
Clos Blanc is a premier cru vineyard of four hectares just outside the village of Pommard. The name refers to the limestone soil in the vineyard and produces only pinot noir. The red wines made here are full-bodied, round and supple, with spicy fruit characters and structured tannins.
This vineyard lies on the northern edge of the village on a gentle south-east to east-facing slope, immediately to the north is the Premier Cru Les Grands Épenots vineyard.
The Clos Blanc has calcareous alluvial soils, are stony, deep and drain quite well, and (contrary to the name) areas have a red colour betraying a high iron content. These soils provide excellent expression of pinot noir and are generally cited as the reason for the dense structure of the wines.