Accueil - Benoit Ente

Domaine Benoit Ente

Vineyard

The vineyard has access to about 20 plots, totalling about 6 hectares, essentially in or around Puligny Montrachet. The vines are mainly those that belonged to my grandparents: Chardonnay is used for all our white wines, except for the Bourgogne Aligoté appellation and, for red Burgundy wines, we use pinot noir grapes. The density of our land coverage varies between 10,000 to 11,000 vines per hectare. Our pruning techniques are Guyot simple, Guyot Poussard and cordon de Royat.

History

In 1990, may aunt and I took over my grandparents’ plots. We sold all of our harvests to a négociant until 1997, and then went our own ways. For 16 years, I managed about 3 hectares and in 2013, my aunt stopped working and gave me the possibility of working on her vines as well.

Philosophie

For the first six years, I focused on producing rich and powerful wines. In 2003, the vintage was overly mature or too ripe, which led me to change my style, with greater focus on higher acid content in my wines.

Growing method:
We believe in sustainable grape growing, we maintain our soil without resorting to chemical weed killers or fertilizers whenever possible. We practise what we refer to in France as “well-reasoned” agriculture, which means we use all available techniques, including chemical products when we have no other choice to get rid of pests or to deal with plant diseases caused by extreme weather conditions.

Harvesting:
All of our appellations are hand picked. We use only openwork cases to transport the grapes so that they are not damaged before being pressed.

Winemaking and ageing:
Whatever the appellation, winemaking is carried out over an 18-month period and this is true for all our batches.
For the first 12 months, the juice is stored in barrels or vats, and for the last 6 months, the wines of the same appellation are assembled in vats, thus enabling us to finish and clarify them without filtration.