Domaine Deliance
Family history
In 1935, Marcel Deliance, moved to Dracy le Fort with his parents.
After World War 2, He got married and received a training in Rully to produce sparkling wine. He created the Domaine Deliance in 1947. He built up his Domaine from scratch up to a production of 100,000 bottles a year. He was producing them via his own vineyard but also by servicing a large number of local vintner. This model would allow him to be active even on year with low yield
In 1973, his two sons, Gérard and Philippe, took over the management of the Domaine left by their Father.
In 1975, the appellation “Cremant de Bourgogne” was created so was the creation of the Domaine Deliance’s line up “Ruban”. 5 different cremant, 5 different approach, a single purpose: bringing the best of the Burgundy terroirs into Champagne method wine.
Along this development, the 2 brothers extended their estate, formerly a few parcels (included their Givry 1er Cru “Clos de la Servoisine”), up to 18 hectares (45 acres). They replanted most of the parcels to start with better conditions and based on sustainable agriculture.
As of today, Gerard and Philippe passed the baton to their children: Lionel and Julien, the 2 sons of Gérard; Perrine and Guillaume, daughter and son of Philippe. They are now the 4 partners of Domaine Deliance, along with a new employee, Malvyna, who recently joined the team in May 2019.
This legacy is their pride: their terroirs, micro-climates, techniques that they inherited and further improved in both farming and vinifying. All 4 works as team where everyone is able to support one another, while style having a forte to drive the Domaine even further.
Lionel, the wine passionate, operates the vinification of the red wines with Guillaume. It is a rigorous labor that doesn’t leave room for mistake. Each vintage is different so are their interventions. Lionel also takes part to the commercial development of the Domaine along with Perrine.
Julien inherited a passion for sparkling wine. He commits himself entirely to the vinification of the Cremant de Bourgogne. He bases his creations on both, his grandfather techniques, and his trainings / research to always reach new heights where elegance and refined bubbles prevail.
Guillaume, while being easy to be around, enjoy being fully involved in the vineyard. He works every day to operate and oversee all the manual and mechanical labors on the vines. He teaches to Malvyna who assist him on these tasks. The vines are the foundation of the wines and so is his role.
Perrine manages the administrative part of the Domaine while saving some times to intervene on both the farming and mostly the Cremant vinification along with Julien. They meet every couple of weeks to work on that.
In 2019, they hired Malvyna, who is eager to learn and also study part time in the high school of Beaune. She spends mostly her time training in the vineyard, being taught how to maneuver farming machineries and take care of the wines.
In 2019, the four cousins created a new logo that imbodied: the bound between them (the four loop), “the Ruban” representing their legacy and the finesse of the latter for their research in their cremants and wines.
Farming and vinification
For them, their work is first and foremost a manual labor. They maintain each vines in each parcel. This is the only way for them to interact and produce the best wine. Each plot has its own characteristics. One cannot wish to grasp them unless there are willing to work manually.
They hire 4 to 5 seasonal workers at spring/summer time for the pruning. Each bud will produce one or two grapes. It is key to control the yield at this point to bring the plant to concentrate its nutriments to a smaller number of clusters. All is done to guarantee a higher quality of fruits from the Givry appellations.
The climate in Burgundy can easily change and rains remain a challenge to deal with. The stagnant humidity will turn into disease that could reduce to nothing the harvest.
Even though it is challenging, the four cousins works with a sustainable way of farming. While each year is different, they stand by minimizing the use of synthetic product with a goal to stop them, develop a better ecosystem so the vines can better defend themselves. It is natural that they are in the process of being granted the HVE certification
Harvest for red wines
Harvest are completely done by hand. This process is key for the Deliance who don’t hesitate to hire 30 to 35 seasonal workers for 2 weeks. All clusters not mature enough are left aside. The harvest is destemmed and put into vats for the vinification process.
For the Givry and Givry 1er cru cuvee, the grape must macerates at cold temperature for 2-3 days before alcoholic fermentation that will naturally happen for the following 4-5 days. This step last overall 10 to 15 days depending on the vintage. When the alcoholic fermentation starts, they pump over a first time and follow by a daily cap punching to extract more elements. Once this is over, the free run wine and the press wine are blended together to settled. Once separated of a good portion of their marc and depending on the parcel, the wine will move onto its Malolactic fermentation, and last until the following spring:
- In stainless steel vats for Bourgogne Côtes Chalonnaise (Sub-Regionnal AOP)
- In both stainless steel and neutral oak barrel for their Givry villages
- In french oak barrel (30% new) for their Givry 1er Cru.
Harvest for white wines
Harvest fully performed by hand. Full cluster pressed with a pneumatic press. It settles for a day before going into satinless steel vats or French oak barrels for the Givry 1er Cru. The fermentation will starts slowly then followed few days after by the malolactic one.
They respect the traditional method in order to achieve finesse and elegance. These wines are sensitive and need perpetual adaptation to their pace. This is only natural for the Deliance to work closely with their barrel maker who adapt in consequence his work to their need. Each barrels is sampled with some wine to define the right type of toasting. White wines need a different type of barrels than red and their balance is easily more endangered by it. Especially for their Givry 1er Cru that is aged 12 month in barrels.
HARVEST
The grape collection period throughout Burgundy begins with the harvesting of Crémants. The grapes earmarked for the production of Burgundy Crémant are always harvested ahead of the still wines. The collection must be carried out at peak ripeness when a perfect balance between acidity and freshness is obtained. We ensure the safeguard of this perfect balance at every stage of production. The choice of date is essential and the specification for the designation obliges us to harvest by hand. The use of machines is forbidden. The grapes are accordingly collected manually in aerated boxes and handled with great care: bursting and maceration of the berries is avoided, and accordingly, the oxidation of the juice.Production of Burgundy Crémant is underway: the grapes are transported to the press in their entirety and pressed directly. Our pneumatic press ensures an incremental progressive pressing process. This demanding technique guarantees the quality of our Deliance Cremants.
WINEMAKING
From grape juice to base wine.
Both the vinifcation and the ageing processes of our Burgundy Crémants take place in our Dracy-le-Fort cellars. Fermentation happens in two stages: In the first instance, the alcoholic fermentation transforms the grape juice into base wine. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Aligoté will be used for the production of Burgundy Crémants. The optimal development of the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligoté aromas requires discipline and regular monitoring during this Burgundy Crémant production stage. After a while, a secondary fermentation known as malolactic fermentation occurs naturally. This enables the wine to soften and stabilize. The base wines are then matured on lees in stainless steel vats throughout the winter until the blending of the cuvées. This maturation method alongside our special attention enables the wine to assert its character.
BLENDING
The “Deliance” signature
Burgundy Crémant is a blended wine. This is the crémant production stage that provides the subtlety, richness and complexity of the cuvées as well as the expression of their characters. Afer tasting, the base wines are selected for each cuvée. The diversity, proportion of grape varieties and their origin provide a range of aromas that is essential to the character of Deliance Crémants.
TRADITIONAL METHOD
The formation of bubbles.
The birth of Crémant bubbles occurs in the bottle: this is representative of the “traditional method”. The success of this production stage is decisive to the fineness of the bubbles, the respect of taste and the structure of the crémant. Bottled and capped, the Crémant bottles rest on slats, protected from light, between 11°C and 12°C for a minimum of 18 months. Some of our cuvées, such as the Ruban Or, can rest on slats for up to 7 years. Patience is required in order to obtain excellence.
RIDDLING & DISGORGING
The riddling and disgorging of the crémant are interrelated. After the crémant has undergone an ageing process – from 18 months to 7 years in some cases according to the cuvée -, the bottles are riddled in order to relocate the deposit resulting from the fermentation to the neck. This action, also known as remuage, precedes an essential stage in the production of Burgundy crémant: disgorging. The deposit is ejected: disgorging the wine makes it clear and brilliant. Prior to the insertion of the definitive cork which finalizes the production of the Burgundy crémant, an expedition liqueur is added in order to adjust the final taste of the Crémant: Julien alone holds the secret of the recipe for this liqueur.