Domaine Ramonet Winery
"Domaine Ramonet is one of the undisputed top producers in Burgundy."
The Ramonet family
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Domaine Ramonet can certainly be counted among the legends of Burgundy. This has a lot to do with Pierre Ramonet, who built up the estate from the 1920s onwards, because what Henri Jayer was to red Burgundy, Pierre Ramonet was to white. Noël Ramonet and his brother Jean-Claude are continuing this tradition.
"He was a grand monsieur," says Noël Ramonet about his grandfather, who died at the end of January 1994, leaving behind a great legacy. "He started from scratch, with horses, no machines, no tractors. He helped people discover Burgundy and Chassagne-Montrachet. Burgundy owes him a lot". Pierre Ramonet acquired his first own vineyard in Chassagne-Montrachet in the 1930s. It was Les Ruchottes and it was to establish his legendary reputation. Even before the Second World War, Ramonet sold his wines as far away as the USA - an absolute rarity at the time. Although his son André worked alongside his father for a while, it was his sons Noël and Jean-Claude who took over the real legacy. Noël's sons (Michaël and Pierre-François) and one of Jean-Claude's daughters (Anne-France) are now also part of the team.
The white wines are true long-distance runners. They have never been floral nose-pleasers, but genuine structural and textural wines that develop a wonderful harmony of concentrated fruit and elegance over time. The red wines are less well known but just as great, with fruit reminiscent of the Côte de Nuits.
Since 1978, 0.26 hectares of Le Montrachet as well as parcels in Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet have been part of the large range of vintages. Despite these legendary Grands Crus, the focus of the winery has always been on the excellent sites in the more than 14 1er Crus Climats with plots in Chassagne-Montrachet's Les Ruchottes, Clos Caillerets, Cailleret and Vergers, among others, totalling around 17 hectares, including the excellent Pinot Noir site Clos de la Boudriotte in Chassagne-Montrachet.
Only vines older than 18 years are used for the single-vineyard cuvées, most of them 40 years and older. Fermentation takes place first in stainless steel tanks and then in barriques. The wines mature for 12 to 15 months in oak barrels. The Village wines receive around 10 % new wood, the Premier Crus around 25 %, the Ruchottes around and the Grand Crus 50 to 75 %. Finally, the Montrachet receives up to 100 % new oak.
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