Vineyards are sustainably farmed, all grapes are harvested by hand and sorted, 100% of the grapes are de-stemmed, parcels are all vinified separately in open-topped, wooden vats, natural fermentations with indigenous yeasts. Grapes macerate for several days at 15°-17° Celsius, then must goes through alcoholic fermentation with occasional punch-downs and pump-overs. Must pressed gently by pneumatic press. Jus de presse is blended in with first press wine to settle for 24-48 hours, wines are racked by gravity directly into oak fûts deep into the cellar below the winery. The percentage of new oak varies with the vintage and appellation. Wines enjoy a long, slow élévage before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. These vineyards were planted in 1947, 1987, and 1989.
At the southern exit of the village of Aloxe-Corton, this climat is an enclave classified 1er Cru, surrounded by village appellations. However, its soil of compact clays on a very hard, shallow diaclase rock, gives wines of great aging (7-20 years) with powerful and tight tannins. This great concentration and length ranks it first among Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru.
Franck Follin’s long, patient, traditional processes in his cellar—fermenting and aging in older wood, racking by gravity, unfiltered bottling late in the season—accentuate this wine’s natural tendencies to be deep, chewy, and broad-shouldered. Vercots is a wine that you can begin enjoying at age three and hold for up to fifteen years. This paired with a robust roast with bay leaf and juniper . . .