A true relay of his brother in the wine-making process, Olivier has been alone since 1996 in the wine-making process. It must extract from the grapes the character of the terroir, keep the specificity and balance of each plot of vines, and bring out certain «emotions» to the tasters. After several parcels, it is he who decides the order of harvest of the grapes. (Place-dit, grape variety).
For Crémant de Bourgogne cuvées, often the first cuvées collected, because the potential level must not exceed 11° to be able to practice the so-called traditional Champagne method.
Always collected in a box of 25 kg by hand, the harvest is pressurized and put in vats for a traditional fermentation. Then, at the beginning of the following year, the base wine is bottled for second fermentation in the bottle (foam intake = champagne method) and is not marketed for at least 12 months, at Domaine FICHET.
The red grapes, once harvested, are hand-sorted on a carpet and then mechanically destemmed before being put in the tank and cooled to 10-12°C.
2 to 3 days later, depending on the cuvées, the fermentation begins, and the maceration lasts 5 to 10 days before pressing the fermented grapes.
At this stage, colour, round tannins and matter are extracted from the film. The breeding is done either in vats for the Gamay or in barrels for the Pinots Noirs.
Since 2007, we have wineries of the «Ganimede» type* that allow better extraction before fermentation and to obtain beautiful colors with more rounded and melted tannins, but always with a good potential to keep.(*see process on sitewww.ganimede.com)
The white grapes, sent to the cuvage after harvest, are also sorted and destemmed, put in the maceration tank for some cuvées for 24 hours or pressed immediately. 24 to 48 hours after pressing, the grape juice is clear and separated from the deposit (bourbes) to be fermented in vats or barrels. The Domaine is equipped with a temperature control system, and ferments Chardonnays, depending on the cuvées, from 12° to 18°C.
Since 2000, the Estate has selected 1 plot likely to obtain noble rot (Botritis), due to climate and soil. New cuvée picked up in 1 or 2 manual passages by a selection of «Grains nobles», these are pressed very gently and aged 12 to 18 months in barrels to obtain a mellow wine of Chardonnay, surprising and charming. This cuvée is made only for the appropriate vintages, and remains very limited in quantity.
The following spring, and depending on the cuvées, the wines begin to be bottled by us, with a slight filtration before.