Created by Benjamin Me Back to the roots After completing his - - PDF document

L ’ A r t d e c r é e r

Created by Benjamin Meï

Back to the roots

After completing his training in France (Bourgogne, Languedoc and Saint Emilion) and working abroad for 12 years, in Australia and New-Zealand, but especially in Chile, where he has been trained by Alvaro Espinoza where he became « Chef Winemaker » of the Vina Apaltagua, Benjamin came back to his native Provence region In 2015 to join his cousin Bernard MEÏ to create the Premium trading company « Provence Wine Maker ». For his fjrst vintage, he wanted to propose a high quality product by creating Rose Infjnie. He has, in fact, imported a popular practice from abroad, that of the «fmying winemaker”.

HISTORY OF THE ROSE A tradition, a symbol

It is traditional to plant a rosebush at the top of the vine rows to warn the winegrower against the presence of Oïdium, before it spreads in the

• vinyard. Rosebushes are still found in some farms. What is more beauti-

ful than the rose – is the symbol of love associated with our wine which is characterized by its fjnesse and elegance in the pure style of the rosé wine form the Provence. A poem is created especially for this wine. This poem is present on all the labels of the Rose Infjnie wines.

I will pick the Rose at the foot of the vine And I will offer it to you as a symbol of our infjnite love

Rose Infjnie and its terroirs

The «fmying winemaker» approach seeks to identify the very best terroirs. Just like a chef who carefully selects the best ingredients for a dish, Ben- jamin MEI has carefully selected the highest altitude vineyards in Pro- vence, as well as partner wineries, in order to produce an exceptionally high quality wine.

Benjamin MEÏ’s carreer

1999 : BTS Agriculture School Mâcon-Davaillé 2000 : Technician Domaine Preignes Le Vieux (Pays d’Oc) 2002 : Maître de Chais Château LASSEGUE (Saint-Emilion) 2003 : Departure for Chile, start

• f adventure abroad………

2009 : Vinifjcation in Australia and New Zealand 2010 : Head Winemaker Vina Apaltagua (Chile) while trained by Alvaro Espinoza, most important winemaker in South America 2015 : Return to France. Creation

• f Rose Infjnie Wines

2016 : Creation of « Benji » 2017 : Launch of the range «Création by Benjamin »

The Sainte Victoire terroir

This wine region is located east of the town of Aix-En Provence, on the foothills of the Sainte-Victoire moun-

• tain. It covers 2,225 hectares of vines, just 11% of the

whole Côtes de Provence appellation. It enjoys a continental microclimate and benefjts from the infmuence of the Mistral, a constant dry wind that can be quite strong and therefore protects the vine from parasites. The terroir varies in altitude from 300 to 450 m. The soils are very stony and composed pri- marily of limestone, clay and red sandstone. The main varietals are for rosé: Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. For white: Rolle (Vermentino), Ugni Blanc and Clairette.

The Triangle d’Or Terroir

For his red wine, Benjamin MEÏ has selected within the Côtes de Provence (around 20,000 hectares) the «Triangle d’Or» terroir (just 790 hectares) which lies between Cuers, Pierrefeu and Puget-Ville. It enjoys ma- ritime and continental infmuences and high tempera- tures in spring and summer. The altitude of the vines is about 400m above sea level. It is composed of three difgerent soil types: red clay sandstone, pebbles and browny-red clay loam. The main varietals are for red wine: Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Carignan

The Aix en Provence North terroir

In 2016 Benjamin MEÏ created « BENJI », a Coteaux d’ Aix en Provence from a terroir located North of Aix- en-Provence in Eguilles, Venelles and Lambesc. This is the coldest terroir of the appellation. Its soil is made of limestone, clay, red standstone with

• gravel. Main grape varieties are Grenache, Cinsault and

Vermentino (Rolle)

The South Luberon terroir

Still aiming at creating wines with much freshness, Benjamin MEÏ widened its range in 2017 with the brand « CREATION BY BENJAMIN ». It is made of three IGP Méditerranée wines (a Chardon- nay, a Merlot and a Rosé) issued from the foot hills of the Mourre Nègre, highest point of the area called the Grand Lubéron. Thanks to their location at an altitude higher than 400 meters the vineyards benefjt comple- tely from the Mistral efgects. Soil of limestone and a high percentage of stones. Grapes : White wine : 100% Chardonnay /Red wine : 100% Merlot Rosé blend : Grenache, Syrah, Ugni Blanc. Some more terroirs and grape varieties still wait to be revealed……..

Vinifjcation process

We have developed partnerships with the best wine cellars in Provence, all of which are equipped with state

• f the art vinifjcation facilities:
• Cold procedures: heat exchangers, cold settling of the

musts, use of negative temperatures -Pneumatic press with inertia process using inert gas (nitrogen) - Auto- matic temperature controlled of the vinifjcation vats.

• Stainless steel and concrete tanks with temperature

control plates -State of the art pumps with in-line in- jection of inert gas -Dissolved oxygen measurement. This process enables us to retain the “strength” of our Provence wines and conserve their balance and fresh- ness whilst respecting the authenticity of our terroirs.

White and rose wines

As soon as the grapes arrive at the winery they are fully de-stemmed and gently crushed before being placed in the pneumatic press. The presses are fully closed and protected by nitrogen, an inert gas. Once the fruit has been pressed, the juices are separated according to their quality and cooled again in order to facilitate the settling process (elimi- nation of solid matter) and allow the rosé musts, which are rich in pulp and plant residues, to clarify quickly. Once a clear juice has been extracted, the lees (solid re- sidues) are fjltered in order to extract intensely aromatic

• juices. A proportion of the clear juices are «stabulated»

in vats at a temperature of 2°C for 5 to 7 days in order to encourage the development of aromatic precursors which are essential for the fermentation process. The musts are then settled before being fermented at low

• temperatures. This process lasts between 15 to 20 days

(between 14 and 16°C) and enables us to preserve the future potential of the wine. During the fermentation process, the temperature of the vats is regulated au- tomatically in order to control the exact temperature at which fermentation takes place. It also allows us to ensure optimum organoleptic qualities in the wine wi- thout putting strain on the yeasts which are very sensi- tive to changes in temperature. The wine is then racked in order to remove the coarse lees (sediment from the dead yeasts). The wine is aged

• n its fjne lees which involves stirring the lees to give

the wine volume and length on the palate. The wines are then bottled in early January of the following year in order to preserve their aromas.

VINIFICATION, AGEING AND BLENDING