Whole bunch in burgundy

I tried searching but couldn’t find anything here or elsewhere. Is there a list available of producers in the Cote d’Or that use a significant amount of whole bunch fermentation (i.e. 25/30% or greater)?

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are you asking generally or by vintage? Some producers slide the scale year to year

I meant more generally. It just seems that most of the wines I have in my cellar lean more towards the 100% destem and wanted to try some other options - that are somewhat reasonably priced.

To get it started, here is what I am aware of:

DRC
Dujac
Leroy
Thibault Liger Belair (particularly LSG)
de Montille
Arlot

It’s getting much easier. Even Fourrier has started including stems.

I think your list has been doing it a long time. But with recent super-ripe vintages many/most include stems to freshen up the wines.

Jasper Morris hosted a very informative webinar on the topic of whole bunch. The link to the playback is on the events page of his insideburgundy.com website

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Seems like it is a large majority are now including stems in these recent warmer vintages to keep some freshness in the wines, unless the harvest of a particular cuvee is too large for a producer to add the stems into their vat of choice.

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And some slide the scale Village to Village.

Jean-Marc Vincent

I recently made a list for myself, as follows. I can’t guarantee its complete accuracy but maybe a starting tool.

Burgundy Destemmers

Marquis d’Angerville
Comte Armand
Domaine Denis Bachelet
Barthod
Berthaud-Gerbet (not 2019)
Henri Boillot
Jean-Marc Boillot
Louis Boillot
Sylvain Cathiard
Domaine Jean Chauvenet
Domaine Robert Chevillon
Duroche
Gilbert et Christine Felettig
Fourrier
Grivot
Michel Gros
Louis Jadot
Gérard Julien & Fils
Michel Lafarge (pre-2017)
Comtes Lafon
Lamarche
Hubert Lamy
Benjamin Leroux
Stephane Magnien
Marchand-Tawse
Château de Marsannay
Jean-Marc Millot
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg
Georges Noëllat
Hudelot Noellat
Jean-Marc Pillot
Domaine Georges Roumier
Armand Rousseau (90% destem)
Domaine Tawse
Domaine Tollot-Beaut
Aurélien Verdet
Jean-Marc Vincent

Partial Whole Bunches

Domaine Arlaud
Albert Bichot
Chandon de Briailles
Bruno Clair
Domaine Drouhin-Laroze
Meo-Camuzet
Domaine Denis Mortet
Rossignol-Trapet

Whole Bunches

Domaine de l’Arlot
Bellene
Bouley
Boris Champy
Maison Chanson
Dujac
Les Horées
Domaine des Lambrays
De Montille
Sylvain Pataille
Ponsot
Nicolas Potel/Bellene

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With some edits:

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Surprised nobody has said Arnoux-Lachaux yet - 100% whole cluster in recent years.

I wouldn’t say a large majority by any means, though certainly quite a few of the more famous domaines are.

While stems may bring the perception of freshness, potassium in the stems actually precipitates out tartaric acid and increases the pH of the wine. Some producers who used 100% whole bunch in years like 2018 and 2019, and who didn’t add tartaric acid to compensate, ended up with pHs close to 4.0…

For this reason, some producers who often use a lot of stems, such as d’Arlot, are sometimes destemming more.

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A couple of additions to the list:

Domaine Simon Bize - Whole cluster or partial whole cluster depending on parcel and vintage. I believe the goal is whole cluster when possible
Hubert Lignier - Partial whole cluster. I believe Laurent likes to vinify destemmed and whole cluster in alternating layers with percentage varying by the vintage and parcel

This is what I thought but I stayed silent for change, seeing how many sources claim they don’t destem because of the freshness.

I’ve noticed that whole bunches might add fragrance, complexity and savory qualities and I know they can help with things such as fermentation thermoregulation and punchdowns, but I’ve never though they’d add any freshness. On the contrary, I’ve thought they’re a good way to soften up wines in cooler vintages by bringing the pH up a bit, if they are high in acidity. Furthermore, in cooler vintages the stems have more time to lignify. Although I’ve understood people pay too much attention to woody stems and one can use stems that still are quite green without any worries, in hotter (ie. early) vintages the stems might be still a bit too unripe to benefit the wine.

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Yeah, it is a very complex subject and I think that, in some cases, other considerations such as choice of oak, timing of malolactic fermentation, duration of élevage post-malo, extent of lees retention, etc can contribute to some of the aromas that people tend to associate with whole bunch vinification. Much as a lot of the technique behind white Burgundy production can often get over-simplified to “reductive wine making”, so a lot of the technique behind the reds gets reduced to destemmed or whole bunch.

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What is it that stems brings that might add this perception of freshness? Asking from a point of pure curiosity.

In my simple mind i have always just associated stems with herbal and spicy notes. Not freshness as such.

I was going to respond using similar, albeit less eloquent, language as William Kelley. The vast majority of Burgundy winemakers land in the middle here and make decisions regarding how much stems to include based on a myriad of vintage specific factors. It is even a myth that DRC uses 100% whole cluster every year, most of the time they are only using around 60%. I think consumers make a bigger deal about this than is warranted.

I should have used “perception” of freshness, but surely it can be agreed on that more warmer vintages (or again, let me be more concise - higher potential alc. vintages) such as '18 or '19, we’re seeing more vignerons in the Cote D’Or looking to add stems in order to add “a perception” of freshness.

If someone has alternate data, I’d love to hear it, as I have heard this from more than one source on the ground.

surely though when you get a whiff of freshly cut green beans in a young burgundy its on account of the stems?

Guillemot I think is partial or full stem use?