Domaine Ragot
The Ragot family had been cultivating vineyards in the commune of Mercurey since the 18th century, but it is only in the 19th century that they moved to Givry, and established the current domaine in the Cote Chalonnaise.
The domaine was officially born in 1984, under the direction of cousins Jean-Paul and Jean-Pierre. On the death of Jean-Pierre in 1991, management passed into the hands of Jean-Paul, flanked by his son Nicolas from 2002 (who has now been overseeing the operation alone since 2008). In 2003, a new and modern cuverie was built for the new era of Ragot.
Currently the estate operates across nine hectares of vineyards, all in the municipality of Givry, planted with Pinot Noir (6.46ha), Chardonnay (1.97ha) and Aligoté (0.22ha), and for over fifteen years the use of herbicides has been forbidden and cover crops have been planted between the rows to encourage biodiversity. Guyot-pruned vines are first pruned back between November and December and then finished in March to choose the best position of the shoots, to optimise aeration of the foliage and bunches. In April the best-exposed emerging shoots are left for the season.
A lutte raisonée approach is adopted to minimise the use of agricultural products, and the estate manually harvests and carefully selects the best grapes both in the vineyard and then on tables in the cellar. Organic experimentation is currently underway on one hectare of the vineyard area. The vinification of red wines involves complete destemming, a cold maceration of 4-6 days at 12-14°, and the use of indigenous yeasts only. Fermentation takes place over 10-15 days, followed by elevage in small wooden barrels for 12-16 months, with a maximum of 20% new oak in use depending on the wine and the vintage. Vinification of whites involves a slow and delicate pressing of whole bunches, with the must cold clarified and racked after 36 hours. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel before transfer to small barrels or into stainless steel maturation tanks, with some malolactic conversion in use. Elevage takes place for 10-12 months prior to a light filtration and bottling.