Harvest
Only grapes from the best, magnificently exposed vines are used to produce a De Roval champagne. Each ripened grape is full of sun and hand-picked during the harvest.
Pressing
Extracting the juice is a very delicate task and huge care is taken with each grape that must softly burst in order to avoid any alteration to the quintessential aroma of the must.
Vinification
During the initial alcoholic fermentation that is the result of the sugars fermenting, the must in the tanks turns into wine when subjected to the action of natural yeast, resulting in aromas of flowers and fruits. The cellar master leaves the wine to undergo a malolactic fermentation, to achieve its delicate subtlety.
Clarification
The manual extraction of the last yeast and solid particles means that the wines’ clean aromatics can be restored.
Mixing
The true signature of the Maison De Roval, and a crucial and basic stage in each vintage, with ancestral expertise being decisive: the inheritance and jealously guarding of the secrets of mixing from his forebears help guide the cellar master when harmonising the types of grapes from very different soils. This mixing will produce an exceptional champagne, a marriage of tranquil wines with complementary flavours.
Drawing and foaming
The expertly mixed wine is then bottled. The cellar master adds his drawing liqueur (an exclusive mixture of wine, sugar and yeast) that will cause the second alcoholic fermentation. The mystery of champagne occurs, and the effervescence is born: the foaming.
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Ageing
The cellars of the Breton fils domaine, cut into the chalk, extend over some 1200 m2. They provide De Roval Champagnes with the ideal conditions for the harmonious ageing process in a calm darkness, thanks to their constant natural temperature and their raised hygrometry. In the coolness of the chalk, with the underground tunnels patiently hollowed out by hand, the bottles begin their slow maturing process. The champagnes develop their finesse and specific aromas and reach full maturity over the years.
Turning
The matured champagne is placed on racks, where, once a month, each bottle will be turned by hand. Know-how handed down from ancestors, a precise and delicate tap by the cellar man and the turning helps the lees collect in the neck of the bottle. Over several weeks, each bottle will be turned to stop the deposits sticking. Alongside this, the angle of inclination of the bottles will be gradually increased. At the end of the turning process, the bottles will be upside down.
Necking
Volley necking is carried out on De Roval champagnes. The natural pressure of the carbon gas is used to remove deposits as this technique does not require the wine to be prepared beforehand.
Dosing
This operation also calls on the cellar master’s expertise. To give the champagne its unique character and harmonious flavour, he adds a dosing liqueur, developed according to a family recipe that is a closely guarded secret.
Dressing
The cork finishes off the champagne and then the cap is attached. For a De Roval champagne, the cap is a finely cut golden jewel that bears the emblem of the House, the precious fleur de lys. Each bottle is hand-painted. An artisan jeweller then attaches its well-worked label and its medallion in the form of a fleur de lys adorned with diamonds. To complete the masterpiece, a royal blue presentation case, decorated with the House’s emblem, embraces the precious nectar from Champagne that has been so lovingly created.
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