The winery and cellar are at a family farm in La Motte-Servolex, using old stables that used to house Nicolas' grandparents' cattle. (The hay hatches have proven useful to working by gravity.) In the cellar, Nicolas is as non-interventionist as possible, using only natural yeasts and old barrels. When racking and bottling, he works according to the biodynamic calendar.

Saint-Jean de la Porte

Our southeast facing slopes benefit from a micro climate. On the sides of the Bauges mountain range, cicadas, black truffles, Montpellier maple trees, junipers, and almond trees create a sort of “Alpine garrigue”

The parcels are at between 350 and 600 meters of altitude on marl-limestone on a schist structure. From one parcel to another, the proportion of clay and limestone varies, as well as the oxidation and structure of the clay (which is mostly red). Also, the thawing of the huge glaciers 20,000 years ago left other deposits of rock that came from elsewhere - sandstone, micaschist, quartz.

Organic from the outset, Nicolas uses plant infusions against diseases and is incrementally switching to biodynamic farming. Certified Demeter in 2020. He believes that low yields are key for quality and keep yields that are often almost half of what the appellation authorizes. With slopes that can reach up to 45%, Nicolas Ferrand and his team do most of the vineyard work by hand and work the soil with a winch and caterpillar tractor and with a horse on the less steep plots. Pruning is an important step at this address and Nicolas takes the time to fully understand the plant and the sap flows prior to pruning the vine using the Guyot, En gobelet, or En Cordon de Royat methods. In winter, sheep roam through the vineyards, eating weeds and fertilizing as they go.

The winery and cellar are at a family farm in La Motte-Servolex, using old stables that used to house Nicolas' grandparents' cattle. The hay hatches have proven useful to working by gravity.

In the cellar, Nicolas is as non-interventionist as possible, using only natural yeasts and old barrels.

The red grapes go through whole bunch fermentation in concrete vats with natural yeasts and no added sulphur. Neither pumping-over nor punching down is performed. Depending on the grape varietal and the cuvee, aging is done in a mix of vessels including sandstone and terracotta amphorae, cement tanks, and foudres bought in Alsace.

The white grapes are pressed upon arrival in the cellar, after a light settling by gravity fermentation starts with natural yeasts. The wines are aged on lees in a mix of old barrels, cement tanks, foudres, and amphorae.

When racking and bottling, Nicolas works according to the biodynamic calendar.

The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered with very little added sulphur.