Domaine Francoise André

The latest addition to our growing Burgundy list is this small domain, whose cellars lie below the medieval ramparts of Beaune itself. Domaine des Terregelesses is an historic 7 hectare estate that, starting with the 2009 vintage, has opened an exciting new chapter as the André family has resumed day-to-day running of the whole winemaking process from vineyard management all the way through to the final bottling of the wine.Françoise and her daughter-in-law Lauriane have made an impressive start, making their mark on the domain by beginning the three-year process of conversion to organic viticulture. The aim is to make soft, pure wines, and so before fermentation, the grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and allowed a three day "cold soak" in order to ensure extraction of only the gentlest of tannins. They have also introduced AS-Elite stoppers, which have the aesthetics and functionality of traditional corks, but without the risk of cork taint.The harvest is done manually with meticulous cluster selection. Whole grapes are then pressed in a pneumatic press, where the slow and steady pressure increase of the press encourages fine and elegant wines. The settling process (separating the must from the solid particles) is thorough and the must (the juice extracted from the grapes) begins its alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in 350 litre barrels, 30% of which are renewed annually.