Clos de l’Écotard: Wines
The harvest is by hand, as you might expect, and the manual picking is the mainstay of selection. The whites are pressed on arrival at the cellars, and then fermented in a mix of large cuve, 25-hectolitre Stockinger foudres, barrels and stoneware jarres, depending on the cuvée. The reds are vinified in fibreglass cuves, barrels and stoneware jarres. While both Thibaud makes use of stoneware jarres for both white and red, the whites can rest in jarres throughout the vinification, while the reds only go into jarres after the completion of the malolactic fermentation. The sparkling wines also see their first fermentations in barrels and foudres.
The vinifications are mostly managed in the ground-level chai, which during my visit in October 2022 was little more than a building site; after such a rapid expansion of the vineyard more cellar space was required, hence the cellar extension. Some fermentations also take place in a small traditional cellar on the opposite side of the road.
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