Modern tools in the service of tradition
At Peyrassol, the wine store, built from ancestral stone, contains state-of-the-art equipment which allows vinification to be performed with a high degree of precision. While remaining true to tradition, the domaine has adapted to the major advances in winemaking, and our wine store handles the grapes with the same meticulous care as they receive on the vine.
The Peyrassol wine store has been renovated and designed to use the traditional gravity principle: there are no pumps or pipes which could damage the must. We have increased the number of concrete and stainless steel tanks, in different capacities, to enable us to vinify grapes from individual plots, in a logical extension of the process of identifying and nurturing separate plots of vines in the field.
Rosé and white wines
Fine colour, fresh aromas, harmony and subtlety … rosé and red wines from Peyrassol are the result of a clever balancing act and rigorous technique. Whether harvested by hand or mechanically, the grapes are all picked at their peak maturity, during the coolest hours of the day. The various handling and processing operations then proceed as rapidly as possible in order to minimise the oxidation processes which start to occur naturally as soon as the grapes are picked. Each variety is vinified separately. The wines are then blended and aged in stainless steel tanks, with the exception of Château Peyrassol white, which immediately after pressing is put into new barrels where it will be fermented and aged on fine lees.
Reds
On the advice of Stéphane Derenoncourt’s team, a new wine store to be used exclusively for red wines came into operation in the summer of 2015. Equipped with 13 custom-made concrete tanks, it provides more comfortable working conditions and a greater storage area. Extended maceration, gentle fermentation at a controlled temperature, careful extraction of tannins by pigeage (punching down) … following these operations the wines are then aged in barrels or in 20 hl wooden vats for 12 months for the Château Peyrassol range. Several barrel makers (Taransaud, Radoux, Saury …) were selected. Their complementary styles help give the wines even greater complexity. The fruitiest red in the Commanderie de Peyrassol range is aged in stainless steel vats.
For all these wines, freshness of aroma, minerality and complexity are the hallmarks of the domaine.