Our Crémants combine the elegance of the grape varieties that have made Burgundy and Champagne famous with the delicate finesse of the perfect sparkle. Our wines benefit from an appellation d’origine contrôlée –A.O.C.– which attests to their outstanding level of quality, quality confirmed by the large number of awards won and ever-growing recognition worldwide.
Exactly as for still wines, it is the quality of the grapes and, thus, the quality of the work done in the vineyards which underlie the ultimate quality of Bailly Lapierre’s Crémants. Our goal is to retain in every bottle the inspirational outlook of the winegrower as he oversees the slow transformation of the fruit of his vines. In the long sequence of stages that brings forth Crémant from the grapes, each step is the object of the utmost care:
• hand-picked grapes• transport of the harvest in open-sided bins of 45kgs to eliminate any damage to the berries
• airbag presses
• must obtained on the basis of 100 litres of juice from 150kgs of harvest: 75% first pressing, 25% rebêche (second or later pressings)
• both yeast and malolactic fermentations carried out, blending of separately-made wines, then preparations for bottling that is carried out after January 1st
• extended maturing, 16-18 months on average, bottles inverted on racks in the unvarying natural cool and half-light of the underground cellars hewn out of the limestone bedrock. It is during this period that the wine’s natural sparkle develops
• two-stage certification by the INAO (Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité): first the base wines, then the finished wines off the racks.