At the end of the running off, when the free-run wine has been separated off into vats, or already into barrels, and is waiting for the malo-lactic fermentation to start, the grape skins, making up the marc, are removed from the vats and pressed to make a press wine. This is a very delicate operation which we carry out with the greatest care, since the success of the future blending partly depends on a successful press wine. When the marc has not been exhausted by an excessive extraction, it is capable, through pressing, of producing a rich, powerful, very tannic, but fat, well balanced wine with a long, soft and fleshy finish.

Such a press wine can only improve the blend, as it brings power, backbone and length, without unsettling the subtle harmony that is established by the addition of the best of the free-run wine. However, as elsewhere with grape quality and vinification, the highest standards are required for the pressing since, if proper care is not taken, underlying problems in the free-run wine are likely to come to the fore in the press wine.

It is firstly the gentle handling of the marc which is the key to good quality press wines.

It is transferred from the vat to the press by hand, as in the past, to avoid any type of crushing. The high level of difficulty of this work is a fair reflection, almost a symbol, of its importance. Of course, though, the quality is really obtained inside the press, which today no longer bears any resemblance to the presses of old ! Modern technology has enabled us to press the marc gently but in depth, and most of all to make a strict selection according to pressure levels. Then comes the last and decisive phase of the process -after a few days, all the barrels of press wine are tasted one by one and blended according to the quality of each.

The hand of man therefore returns to the scene, after the more perfected but blind contribution of the machine. This pragmatic partnership is a good example of what today has become our tradition.