The Wine Terroirs blog written by Bert Celce has a very detailed description of Foillard’s vinification methods (with pictures):
As Warren noted, Foillard keeps his grapes in a refrigerated room before he begins carbonic maceration, and he seems to do this because he believes the cold causes a gentler extraction that prevents “vegetal harshness.” After the grapes cool down, he puts them in wood or cement vats and pumps in CO2 to begin the CM. Carbonic lasts from 25 to 30 days depending on vintage. Once the interior pulp of the grape is soaked with the pigments from the skin (i.e., mortification), it seems like they take the macerated grapes and begin pressing. After pressing, it seems like he takes the juice from the pressing and puts in back in the same vats where CM took place, in effect blending whatever juice was in the vats after removal of the pulp with the juice extracted from the pneumatic press. I am guessing this is what is meant by a semi-carbonic maceration. There also seems to be a cap of clustered grapes (presumably the pulp after pressing) and a pump-over process where the juice from the bottom of the vat is pumped over the cap floating on top of the vat. Elevage than takes place using two large foudres and used Burgundian casks that are 1 to 10 years old.
So, it looks like carbonic maceration is used at the beginning to help soften some of the acidity and tannins from the grapes. As Berry noted, traditional Burgundian vinification often creates extremely elegant wines, but that is with pinot noir. On the other hand, gamay seems to benefit immensely from carbonic because of its high malic acidity. I remember reading something Eric Texier wrote about Jules Chauvet’s writing that the benefit of CM was that it helps blunt the aggressiveness of malic acidity, and it also leads to a gentler extraction of tannins and polyphenols for a purer aromatic profile. Eric also argues that Chauvet viewed CM as to be peculiarly suited for gamay grown on granite soils (Northern Beaujolais) because of the high acidic profile of the grape grown on that terroir.
I also presume in the Cote d’Or they try to manage malic acidity through malolactic fermentation, which doesn’t seem to be used that often in Beaujolais. Perhaps CM is the method Beaujolais producers use to create more softness and elegance in gamay without having to resort to MLF (which appears to suit pinot noir better). At the very least, from Bert’s description, it doesn’t appear that Foillard uses MLF in his vinification, but seems to rely on CM to help tame the acidity and tannins in his wines, thus resulting in his wine’s elegance.
Really? Do you find Coudert, Lapierre, Vissoux, etc., to be less elegant? Or are they less burgundian because they are simpler, grapey wines in comparison to Foillard? Are they also less burgundian for their comparative lack of density?
for me, those three tend to be more mineral driven and less forgiving than the foillards i’ve had - i love minerality in wine, but i think that it can create a toughness which I sometimes perceive as less elegant. the burgundian reference, for me, has less to do with simplicity and more to do with density and i also seem to stumble upon a unique beef and/or mushroom broth note in foillard that I don’t commonly associate with Lapierre, Vissoux and Coudert.
i think a blind 2010 beaujolais tasting is in order…potentially with some burgundy ringers?
Jean Claude Chanudet dit le Chat, vigneron in charge at Domaine Chamonard, has no Côte de Py vineyard.
Most of his small estate is on Corcelette. Côte de Py is a very warm place that makes impressive wines especially in cool vintages. Certainly not the best terroir for hot years. IMHO.
Semi carbonic means that there is a yeast fermentation of the juice taking place during the carbonic phase.
Can be assumed to be the vinification beaujolaise traditionnelle.
The resulting wine won’t be as poor, in terms of germs, as a wine made from pure cold carbonic.
Just to be clear, I am assuming that in semi-carbonic, they place the whole clusters in a large container, seal it, and fill it with CO2. The berries at the bottom of the container get crushed from the weight of the berries on top, releasing the juice. Then, the ambient yeast on the skins of the grapes begins the yeast fermentation in the juice in the bottom of the container while the CO2 initiates fermentation within the berries that are unbroken on the top of the container. Presumably, the CO2 released from the yeast fermentation in the bottom also helps maintain the CO2 environment. Is this more or less how semi-carbonic works?
I am also interested in understanding what you mean by “the resulting wine won’t be as poor, in terms of germs, as a wine made from pure cold carbonic.” Do the germs that are retained in semi-carbonic lend the wine greater complexity in aroma and flavor than the wines made from pure cold carbonic? I remember reading that you argue that semi-carbonic maceration helps retain terroir signatures from wines made in Beaujolais, but that it tends to create a terroir obscuring sameness when used to vinify wines from other locales. Is this because of the germs and other microbes that semi-carbonic preserves in Beaujolais, but that cold carbonic kills off in wines that use pure cold carbonic (to use a random example)?
For what its worth:
I had a bottle of the '08 Morgon Cote du Py over the weekend… wow.
I love Coudert, Desvignes, Vissoux and sometimes JP Brun, but this bottle was in a different league. Here’s the note:
2008 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py
This is just fantastic. Expressive nose with a nice mix of savoury elements and darker red fruit. Fantastic palate presence, with a wonderful silky texture that I’ve only come across in pinot before… but there’s no mistaking this for pinot, there’s something about it that differentiates itself. A more featherweight presence on the palate perhaps. There’s some meaty undertones and fruit on the palate with some tannins poking there way in and out throughout the evening, but it’s really the texture and meatiness on the palate that makes this stand out to me. This is lacking that flavor impact/intensity to really make this extraordinary but that’s ok, what it lacks in “greatness” it makes up for in pure drinkability. This seems to be just entering a really nice drinking window, but no need to rush. As the price of burgundy continues to be inversely proportional to the number of bottles I’m able to buy each year, wines like these will help to assuage my remorse. Even as one of the most expensive bojos out there, it’s still worth trying a bottle.
2008 Jean Foillard Fleurie- France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (4/29/2012)
Interestingly, the wine had a spicy vegetal note at first that seemed more Loire Gamay than Beaujolais Gamay. With air the wines floral nature took off with violets, dried roses and lavender. Didn’t display the rich, meaty character that I expect with Foillard but was more feminine and lithe - it finished with minerality and acid. The last sip was the best…probably could have used more decanting. Interesting wine - didn’t bowl me over by Foillard’s standards but certainly enjoyable! (89 pts.)