Joseph Dorbon commenced his work as vigneron in 1996. He works three hectares of vineyards situated in his village of Vadans, six kilometers north of Arbois and across the Route Nationale from the fabled town of Montigny-les-Arsures. The vines are hillside plantings, southeast facing, at approximately 1,000 feet of altitude (322 meters). Dorbon works his vineyards following the best ecological practices and is now on the path to organic classification (“en conversion biologique”). He turns the soil just twice a year, the second time in June with the aid of a horse. Between ploughings, vegetation is largely left to grow between the vineyard rows with the weeding done only underneath and immediately around individual vines.
The vineyards are planted to a mix of Trousseau, Ploussard and Pinot Noir for the reds (30%) and Chardonnay and Savagnin (70% for the whites). All grapes are hand harvested.
The reds are each vinified separately after being destemmed. The alcoholic fermentation and cuvaison lasts for about 15 days. Both the Ploussard and Trousseau are aged for one year in stainless steel while the Pinot Noir rests in 225 liter oak barrels for an eighteen-month period.
The whites are all pressed as grappes entières. The Chardonnay is fermented in 225 liter barrels and is left in the barrel to age for twenty-four months before bottling. During the élevage, the white wine is never racked and the wines are raised sous voile. The still white wines are the product of grapes harvested exclusively from old vines that are at least 40 years of age.
Farming
Practicing organic
Treatments
Copper-sulfate only
Ploughing
Annual ploughing by horse
Soils
Yellow and white limestone-clay marls
Vines
Trained in Guyot and planted at 5,000 vines/ha, vines average 30 years old
Yields
Controlled through pruning and debudding
Harvest
Entirely manual, mid-September to early October
Sourcing
Entirely estate fruit
Fermentation
Red wines see total destemming and a short cold soak before fermenting spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks. Cuvaison lasts c. 14 days. Cuvée des Moyne ferments spontaneously in neutral 228-l barrels. Savagnin ferments spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks
Extraction
Red wines see pumpovers during cuvaison
Chaptalization
None
Pressing
Pneumatic pressing for reds, whole-cluster direct pneumatic pressing for whites
Malolactic Fermentation
Spontaneous, directly following alcoholic fermentation
Élevage
Trousseau ages 12 months in stainless-steel tanks. Other wines age in neutral 228-l barrels for 2-10 years
lees
Wines are racked following malolactic fermentation only if necessary and remain on their fine lees until assemblage prior to bottling
Fining and Filtration
Wines are unfined and unfiltered
sulfur
Applied after malolactic and at bottling, with c. 25 mg/l total sulfur. Trousseau sees no added sulfur
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