Domaine du Saut au Loup: Wines
As already noted, all the winemaking happens at the cellars in Ligré, not at the buildings within the clos. Here Eric Santier has a chai which is somewhat larger than it needs to be, a consequence of him having disposed of 10 hectares of vines after his acquisition. The cellars are air-conditioned, necessary as they are not (largely) subterranean.
Come harvest time Eric favours picking by hand, and this is the method employed for the red wines. The only exception to this statement can be found in the 2022 vintage, when he opted to pick one parcel by machine for logistical reasons. In 2023 and in future vintages, however, he expects to have an entirely manual harvest. The tiny parcels of white are also picked by hand. Only his rosé is regularly picked by machine.
Looking to the red wines first, once the fruit arrives at the cellars it goes on to a table de tri for a traditional sorting by hand and eye, a process step which already puts him ahead of a number of other more renowned Chinon domaines. Following this the bunches are destemmed by machine, and the berries so liberated go into large buckets which can be elevated by forklift truck, the fruit thus deposited in the cuves without recourse to pumps. Eric works with a mix of fibreglass, wood and cement cuves, and the decision relating to fermentation vessel and élevage depends on the cuvée, as detailed below. All the fermentations are effected by indigenous yeasts.
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