Domaine Simon Bize et Fils
This winery’s history begins in 1880 in Savigny-lès-Beaune, and since then many generations of Bize have followed, each contributing their own developments and knowledge to establish Domaine Bize as it is known today.
The estate’s principal concern is to harvest the best quality grapes with balanced acidity and optimum ripeness, and coming as close as possible to the perfect balance between these elements is the basis of their work, in order to make precise, delicate wines, truly representative of terroir.
White grapes are immediately pressed upon arrival at the winery, then the must is transferred to tank where it is cooled to 12° C to encourage natural sedimentation. After roughly twelve hours the must is débourbé, with the bourbe – or gross lees – having settled to the base of the tank. Only the fine, clear lees are kept in contact with the wine, to provide nourishment and impart body to the wine throughout the barrel-aging period until racking and finishing.
For red wines, one of the particularities of their work is to operate with whole bunches or only partial destemming, depending on the appellation and the vintage. Throughout vinification they aim to respect the diversity of their terroirs by seeking finesse and elegance rather than power and over-extraction. Grapes are sorted upon arrival at the winery to eliminate any rot or under-ripe fruit, and the fruit is then dropped into wooden fermentation vats. At this stage a gentle punchdown is appled to avoid excessive pressure to the grapes. This prevents the seeds from cracking – a source of rustic, astringent tannins and acids. Alcoholic fermentation then follows as temperatures rise to 33-34°C, during which color, tannins, and aromas are extracted, and alcoholic fermentation occurs naturally over five to seven days.