"We make each parcel produce its wine separately. Then in January we blend the different wines so as to obtain a long lasting wine of regular quality..."

Valmy and Philippe Bernède haveinherited their ''savoir-faire'' from six generations of wine-growers. The average age for the vineyard is 25 years.
Thç Guyot style of dressing is used : namely single cutting back to 7 buds ; and the leaves are thinned out thoroughly and regularly Consequently we finaly obtain an average medium yield, of high quality of 4500 liters per hectare. According to tradition, the grapes are picked off from the stalks, and as befits a wine for laying down, the fermenting process takes place at a temperature of 28°C (80°F), in vats, over a period of 15-18 days.
The vineyard is divided up into a number of parcels. Each parcel is made to produce a number of carefully selected wines before blending takes place in January ; and in this way a single regular quality is obtained for each vintage.
Once the winter's cold is over the wine is put into wooden casks, where it stays for many months. That is where the tanins mature and become silky and the wine thus acquires a fulsome bouquet of dazzling fragrance. Thus, the Clos la Coutale stands, every year, at the highest level.