The cellar has equipment that is designed for all aspects of winemaking: gravity flow, destemming, temperature control and regulation, pneumatic pressing, tangential filters, micro-oxygenation, etc. The total capacity of the winery, which has steel, concrete and fibreglass tanks, is 11,000 hectolitres, equivalent to 1.3 million bottles of wine.
When the grapes are delivered to the winery during harvesting, we carry out an initial selection of inflows based on a number of different criteria: grape varieties, age of the vines, soil type, exposure, maturity, the wine to be made. We complete a rigorous inspection.
Our brand new thermo regulated aging cellar, installed in September 2018 with a capacity equivalent to 400 French oak barrels, enables us to store our vintage wines. This is where we age our premium wines (from the Magma range) such as, for example, the Basalte or La Légendaire wines. These wines make up around a quarter of our production. The barrels allow for an exchange between wine and wood, helping it to increase its complexity, balance tannins and also develop new aromas. Barrel aging lasts between 12 to 18 months, depending on the wine.
We work exclusively with new barrels in order to preserve the particular features of our Auvergne wines and our volcanic terroir. We view the barrel as a “coach”: its purpose is to grow, strengthen, balance, reveal and embellish our wines but without ever being seen or smelled. We use wood as a means and not an end. We are currently trying to identify the best wood/variety combination. This fine-tuning means we are able to offer highly elegant and fine wines.