Arnauld’s Daudier de Cassini roots are steeped in St. Emilion (he began his career at Chateau Figeac) but today his closest contemporaries are the new wave Loire winemakers like his close friends Catherine and Pierre Breton, who are also helping him convert to Biodynamic winegrowing. He is more likely to look to folks like Didier Daguenneau in the Loire (who taught him about working in the vines), than to his suit and tie neighbours.
Cassini calls himself as a natural winemaker not only because of his almost non-existent sulphur levels but also because he prides himself on vinifying his wine ‘without artifice’: no oak, no filtering, nothing added.
100% Merlot. Single 3.9 hectare parcel, farmed organically. Manually harvested with sorting done at the vine. Minimal canopy management; no insecticides or anti-mildew chemicals.
Vinification for over 3 weeks. Natural yeasts. Elevage for 22 months in cement tanks with moderate aeration and very little oxidation. Bottled by gravity, unfined and unfiltered. 5 g of SO2 per hectoliter added at harvest. Minimal amount of SO2 added just before bottling.
ORGANIC