Domaine Vincent & Sophie Morey

 Sophie and Vincent Morey both come from families of wine-growers. They set up their own domaine in 2006 and had their first harvest in 2007. When Vincent's father Bernard Morey, a leading personality in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet, took his retirement, Vincent took over the a part of the holding. He already had twenty years' experience behind him. After studies at Beaune's "Lycée Viticole" and work-experience at Saint-Emilion in the Bordeaux region, Vincent rejoined the family domaine in 1986.

In the same year Sophie was vinifying her first vintage for the Ménager-Belland domaine in Santenay.
"In my family," Sophie declares with a smile, "the vines pass from mother to daughter." She now divides her energies between the Morey domaine and a second profession as assistant notary. Throughout the year, Vincent and Sophie are helped by four full-time employees and two part-timers.

Vincent and Sophie Morey treat their vineyards as if they were gardens. "Fine wines start with good grapes," they declare in unison. Vincent is definite on the point: "Wine-making is like cooking: The basic ingredients have to be right." In the vineyard, strict attention to detail is the order of the day. "There's no secret. It's a matter of devoting the necessary time to the job. The whole team understands this. It's what I learnt from my father."

Another key principle for Vincent and Sophie is be prepared to re-think. This happens every year as no two years are the same as to vintage and to weather conditions. "This is how we make our experience work for us." A speial concern is the choice of harvest dates. "You mustn't jump the gun. If the vineyard work has been properly done throughout the growing season and the grapes are in good health, then there's no need to rush into it." Though 60% of the domaine;s production goes for export, the domaine still sets a high value on its individual customers. "We want to keep our client-base. We like to see our customers face-to-face, even if this means we have to be constantly available. All are welcome to come and taste our wines, as long as they make an appointment beforehand.

In november, the vines get their first pruning. Definitive final pruning takes place in February-March: Guyot style for the Chardonnay, and Cordon de Royat for the reds. The cuttings are burned on the spot in a wheeled incinerator in the old Burgundian way. At the same time, up to the end of March, replacement vines and new plantings are going on, together with repairs to the system of training wires. This is also the time for ploughing between the rows and weed-suppression. Between the end of March and late July or the beginning of August is the time for applying fungicides, etc., following eco-friendly principles.

The work of disbudding, training and tying-in coicides with the arrival of spring. "This is a very important stage," explains Vincent Morey. We go through the vines twice doing the necessary disbudding. As a result, we have very little need for green thinning." The domaine attaches great importance to leaf-thinning of the Pinot. "We begin at the end of June, working by hand for a better-quality result," says Sophie. "This gives us more time to play with at the start of the harvest, and means that the fruit reaching the vatting-house is of top quality." Picking on the 20-hectare domaine is all done by hand by a team of 35 pickers and seven porters.

Vinificaton: red wines
In the vatting-house, the grapes are sorted on a vibrating table.
Cold vinification.
Fermentation starts as picking ends with cap punching twice a day to start with.
Vatting lasts 15-20 days.
48 hours for pressing and settling.
Transfer to barrels (50% new).
Elevage in wood lasts 12 months.
Run off into vats before new harvest begins.
Bottling in early November.

Vinification: white wines
Grapes crushed and pressed.
24 hours for settling.
Transfer to barrels, where fermentatiion begins.
Sugar checks last into mid-April.
Racking.
Run off into vats then back to barrels until mid-July.
Vatting and fining.
Bottling in mid-August.