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In French fine winemaking, harmony creates excellence
Aging barrels: A wine cellar at Château Angélus in Saint-Ãmilion, France
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Aging barrels: A wine cellar at Château Angélus in Saint-Ãmilion, France. (Courtesy of Château Angélus)" height="333" border="0" width="499">Aging barrels: A wine cellar at Château Angélus in Saint-Ãmilion, France. (Courtesy of Château Angélus)Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, winemaker and owner of Château Angélus, says that just as location is the key to the property business, so is harmony the quintessence of winemaking.
âWhen you look to make a great wine all that matters is harmony,â said De Boüard during a wine class in Jakarta last week.
Dedication to a careful, long-perfected process, he said, was also important in producing quality wine.
Château Angélus is a winery located in the Bordeaux region of southwestern France that has since 2012 been ranked Premier grand cru classé (A) â the highest possible distinction in Saint-Ãmilion, an area renowned for producing great wine.
The 58-year-old oenologist said that the search for harmony began with the best grapes, picked the correct way.
âI try to have the best fruit possible. We pick the grapes with two fingers only before putting them into small crates. Our workers pick with maximum care and maximum gentleness with the fruit to reach the harmony,â De Boüard said.
Hubert de Boüard de Laforest: (JP/Nurhayati)
De Boüard comes from a long line of winemakers. He is the seventh generation of the De Boüard de Laforest family, whose ancestors first came to Saint-Ãmilion in 1782.
The family estate consists of 23.4 hectares, of which 50 percent grows Merlot grapes, 47 percent Cabernet Franc and 2 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
âCabernet Franc gives the wine its soul in the form of freshness, spiciness, long finish and elegance, while Merlot gives it roundness,â he said.
The family estate has vines dating back to 1918. While the oldest vines are Merlot, the estate has 10 hectares of Cabernet Franc that are more than 60 years old.
âThe roots are important as they absorb minerals and other elements in the soil. Young vines have their roots at the surface, while older ones have them very deep, almost 3 meters deep and their grapes have more complex taste,â said De Boüard, who studied oenology under Ãmile Peynaud at the Faculté dâOenologie in Bordeaux.
After completing his studies and entering the family business in the late 1970s, De Boüard took over the business in the mid 1980s. He employed techniques that were popular in Burgundy, but were not widely used at the time in Bordeaux, which included fermenting with whole berries, aging on the lees, farming, harvesting and vinifying on a parcel by parcel basis.
âI have dozens of people working just on picking the grapes and sorting them. Manual picking keeps the berries intact and fresh and prevents oxygenation,â he said.
De Boüard said as a farmer, he often lost a lot of weight during harvest period.
Aging barrels: <)
Aging barrels: A wine cellar at Château Angélus in Saint-Ãmilion, France. (Courtesy of Château Angélus)
Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, winemaker and owner of Château Angélus, says that just as location is the key to the property business, so is harmony the quintessence of winemaking.
'When you look to make a great wine all that matters is harmony,' said De Boüard during a wine class in Jakarta last week.
Dedication to a careful, long-perfected process, he said, was also important in producing quality wine.
Château Angélus is a winery located in the Bordeaux region of southwestern France that has since 2012 been ranked Premier grand cru classé (A) ' the highest possible distinction in Saint-Ãmilion, an area renowned for producing great wine.
The 58-year-old oenologist said that the search for harmony began with the best grapes, picked the correct way.
'I try to have the best fruit possible. We pick the grapes with two fingers only before putting them into small crates. Our workers pick with maximum care and maximum gentleness with the fruit to reach the harmony,' De Boüard said.
De Boüard comes from a long line of winemakers. He is the seventh generation of the De Boüard de Laforest family, whose ancestors first came to Saint-Ãmilion in 1782.
The family estate consists of 23.4 hectares, of which 50 percent grows Merlot grapes, 47 percent Cabernet Franc and 2 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
'Cabernet Franc gives the wine its soul in the form of freshness, spiciness, long finish and elegance, while Merlot gives it roundness,' he said.
The family estate has vines dating back to 1918. While the oldest vines are Merlot, the estate has 10 hectares of Cabernet Franc that are more than 60 years old.
'The roots are important as they absorb minerals and other elements in the soil. Young vines have their roots at the surface, while older ones have them very deep, almost 3 meters deep and their grapes have more complex taste,' said De Boüard, who studied oenology under Ãmile Peynaud at the Faculté d'Oenologie in Bordeaux.
After completing his studies and entering the family business in the late 1970s, De Boüard took over the business in the mid 1980s. He employed techniques that were popular in Burgundy, but were not widely used at the time in Bordeaux, which included fermenting with whole berries, aging on the lees, farming, harvesting and vinifying on a parcel by parcel basis.
'I have dozens of people working just on picking the grapes and sorting them. Manual picking keeps the berries intact and fresh and prevents oxygenation,' he said.
De Boüard said as a farmer, he often lost a lot of weight during harvest period.
'I basically eat nothing but grapes for weeks at a time. I could eat between 2 and 3 kilograms of grape each day to decide when is the best time to pick them,' he said.
Winemaking begins with cold maceration, a soften-by-soaking method during which red wines get their color, for around five days. The resulting wine juice is then fermented in various temperature-controlled vats.
Château Angélus has three kinds of vats, namely, stainless steel, concrete and oak.
'Why do I have three kinds of vats? Because I believe the vats do not matter; what matters is the process. I use all different kind of vats to prove that they are not important,' said De Boüard.
After fermentation is completed, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for varying lengths of time depending on the vintage and its characteristics, before being bottled.
According to him, a good wine is easy to spot. 'The minute it enters your mouth, you can taste its wealth, density and elegance. Like delicate cloth, it will flow on your tongue,' he said.
