Winery Overview
During the Jurassic period 250 million years ago, the slow breaking-up of the Pangaean land mass gave rise to the Tethys Sea. Present-day France was completely under water. A few islands emerged, tropical in type, and the landscape would have been like the Caribbean as we know it: an island (now the Morvan), a coral barrier reef (Mailly-le-Château and Arcy-sur-Cure) and a shallow lagoon (Saint-Bris) forming a habitat for shellfish and ichthyosaurs. Slow sedimentation resulted in the build-up of great limestone deposits that erosion later cut away, forming the Yonne valley and the limestone outcrops, that run from Courson-les-Carrières to Châtillon-sur-Seine. Here, the site at Bailly was born. Bailly was early recognized for its stone which was first extracted in open quarries, as is clearly evidenced by the rock faces now hidden by vegetation. The success of quarrying at Bailly was truly sealed when, in 1186, Pontigny Abbey acquired the site. Bailly would supply the stone for some of the greatest works in France’s architectural heritage including the Pantheon, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Chartres Cathedral. The changeover to underground extraction probably occurred toward the end of the medieval period or the beginning of Renaissance, until quarrying finally ceased altogether at the beginning of the 20th century. At this point, the extraordinary natural conditions so suited to special conservation infused in the quarries a new life: mushroom cultivation first (1927-70), then wine cellars from 1972 onwards. Bailly is the birthplace of the AOC Crémant de Bourgogne, and Bailly Lapierre groups 430 winegrowers from 70 winegrowing families who provide the grapes for making Crémant de Bourgogne. Inheritors of a very long winegrowing tradition, these men and women first combined their efforts in 1972. At this time, together with others, they set up a project to create an appellation d’origine contrôlée –A.O.C.– “Crémant de Bourgogne”. In 1975, a statute officially recognized their wine: it became France’s first Crémant appellation (along with that of the Loire Valley winegrowers). The ancient underground quarries have subterranean galleries extending over more than 4 hectares (10 acres). They provide unique natural conditions that are ideal for the production of Crémants whose subtle effervescence makes them worthy of their name. They offer a naturally cool temperature at a constant 12°C, ideal for maturing and aging, a naturally high level of moisture (about 80% humidity at the heart of the cellars), and soft diffused light that helps preserve the flavor and color of the wines. All grapes are handpicked and placed into open-sided bins to eliminate any damage to the berries. Upon reception at the winery, each crate is weighed, and the quality of the berries assessed. From this assessment, each crate is emptied into the designated hopper and the grapes, still intact on the bunches, brought to the corresponding press. The presses were entirely replaced in 2007 so now the Bailly Lapierre winery is equipped throughout with airbag presses that ensure the gentlest pressing. Below the flight of presses, the different juices are kept apart: the cuvée (which is the juice from the initial pressing, some 2/3 of press volume) is run into separate tanks from the subsequent pressing. There are four presses with different capacities: a 6-tonne press, an 8-tonne press and two of 12 tonnes each. The Crémants are made according to the traditional method, and the winery uses Pinot Noir and Gamay for the reds and Chardonnay and Aligoté for their whites. On 2 June 2015, the Cave des Vignerons de Buxy and the Caves Bailly-Lapierre joined forces to create “La Compagnie de Burgondie,” pooling their sales, marketing and logistics resources in Burgundy.