A d'Aussières Chardonnay
The vintage
The winter 2021 brought lower temperatures than the previous four vintages. The vines were hit by several successive frosts, with a particularly severe one during the night of 7 to 8 April that damaged some of the plots that were relatively advanced in the growth cycle. This was the most intense period of frost since 2017, and the most extensive that Domaine d'Aussières has experienced. The other significant weather factor was the very low rainfall, which delayed the restarting of the vines’ growth after the frost. The soil’s water reserves were only replenished at the very end of the season, after the harvest. These extreme weather conditions delayed the growth and development of the vines and the ripening of the grapes. The harvest started on 13 September, two weeks later than in 2020. The weather was favourable during the harvests. A few days of rain interrupted the picking schedule, but they were welcome in that they helped the final stage of the late-ripening grape varieties. As every year, Aussières Blanc is a blend of the estate's wines with wines selected from the best Languedoc terroirs for growing Chardonnay.
Location
The estate is nestled in the rugged hills just behind the Mediterranean coastline of Narbonne, in the South of France.
Terroir
The soils are very shallow and rocky on the slopes, and deeper and sandy on the plain. Yields are voluntarily kept very low in order to preserve the vines and ensure the production of high quality grapes. This Chardonnay comes form the coolest plots of Aussières and selected neighbouring terroirs, in order to obtain a wine with distinctive freshness.
Winemaking
Grapes are harvested before daylight when temperatures are at their lowest. After a few hours of cold maceration, they are pressed and fermented at low temperature in stainless steel tanks to preserve their aromatic potential. The wine is partly aged on lees in order to obtain a good balance between roundness and freshness.
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