Domaine Lambert - Béatrice & Pascal Lambert

Vineyard practices:

These natural methods allow us to highlight the unique characteristics of micro-terroirs.

- No chemical inputs to the soil. Soil is worked under the vine in spring and summer, thus avoiding competition from grass under the vines.

Between the rows, various plants adapted to the local soil are sown once a year. Mustard, oats, rapeseed, and rye help the soil absorb copper or sulfur sulfates, or promote the development of nitrogenous elements, essential for grape fermentation. The roots of these plants enrich the soil at depth and break up the monoculture of the vineyard.

- Application to the vineyards of compost produced over 8 to 12 months and composed of fermentation pomace, tree bark (BRF), cattle and horse manure, watered with winery effluents from the farm, biodynamic preparations, as well as lactic acid bacteria produced on the farm

- Use of biodynamic preparation silica 501 for light (cosmos) and horn manure 500 for the terroir effect.

- Significant manual work involving bud removal (suckers and between the hearts). Minimal height pruning (tying of shoots) to increase leaf area.

- Use of plants in foliar treatments (nettle tea, nasturtium, yarrow, etc.)

- Maximum use of massal selection vine plants (not cloned, selection of the best vines from generation to generation)

- The vines are pruned according to the lunar calendar (waning moon), and the main biodynamic treatments are also carried out. 100% of the estate's grapes are harvested by hand.

The practices of the estate in the winery:

- Manual sorting of the grapes on a conveyor belt. The destemmed berries are poured into the vats using a conveyor belt (and not by pump), which avoids excessively violent crushing of the grapes.

- In the vats (cement and wood), fermentations take place slowly and naturally without the addition of yeasts. Temperatures are controlled.

- Fermentation takes place using indigenous yeasts without sulfur or any other additives during this period. At bottling, minimal doses of sulfur are added depending on the vintage.

- The main cellar work such as racking and bottling is carried out according to the phases of the moon.

- The aging processes are adapted to the typical characteristics of the terroirs: aging in concrete vats, wood (large volume wooden vats or barrels) and amphorae.

https://chinonlambertbio.com/