The estate is made up of just 6 hectares and the vineyards are farmed according to the agricultural principal of Lutte Raisonnée (“supervised control” in English); a pragmatic approach to farming, where chemical treatments are used only when absolutely necessary. Grapes are harvested entirely by hand and are 100% de-stemmed. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in large, old foudres from Alsace. All wines are bottled under cork and sealed with wax. Certain wines are labelled “Cuvée des Docteurs” after the medical students who came to help Lucien with the harvest during the first few years, and others “Cuvée des Géologues” in honour of the geologists who helped him choose where to plant which varieties and on which parcels.
The red wines are made from the light-skinned Trousseau and Poulsard and the whites from Savagnin which, like Sherry, attracts a flor-type yeast on the surface of the wine during vinification and, as a result, produces wines very oxidative in style with almost nutty characteristics but maintaining wonderful acidity and freshness.
Presently, 95% of the production at Caveau de Bacchus is sold via cellar door with just 3% for the export market.
