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Monday, September 21, 2015

2010 Domaine Huet Le Mont

We are in the process of preparing to harvest our 320 bunches of Chenin Blanc. Our gold standard for Chenin Blanc is Domaine Huet. Recently, we had this 2010 Le Mont and it was sublime. So, the question is, how do we try to emulate our gold standard. We only have 320 bunches which we think will yield approximately 5 gallons of juice. My husband has been doing a lot of online research into the appropriate accoutrement for the making of the best wine in small lots. One of the articles he consulted was called Research On Chenin Blanc published in 2006 by Wineland and written by Dr Johann Marais of ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Stellenbosch. This article lead us to procure the yeast, QA 23 from Lalvin. The summary of the research indicated that:
"Berry size, sunlight exposure, grape ripeness, yeast strain, lees contact, pH, air and nitrogen sparging have a prominent effect on Chenin blanc wine quality and shelf life. Results, obtained under the conditions of this investigation, suggest that yeast strain QA 23 together with enzyme treatment during lees contact, were the best parameters for the production of Chenin blanc wines where lees character and more body are required. The ageing potential of Chenin blanc wine was markedly enhanced by an increase in pH of 0.3 units. Furthermore, it appears that wines produced from grapes with small berries, ripened under shady conditions and harvested at full ripeness showed the best potential to keep longer. Aspects such as oxygen management after fermentation up to bottling are of crucial importance."

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