Coming from a family of Vergisson wine makers in the Macon region, Roger Lassarat struck off on his own in 1969 with 3 hectares. Vergisson is a small, typically Macon village, planted between the Vergisson rocks and Solutre, 10 km west of Macon. Bit by bit, the domain has increased in size and now includes a little more than 16 hectares. Roger has sought to develop pure wines that reflect different terroirs. Firstly, only the best grapes possible are harvested. In addition, there is the advantage of having old vines (the oldest of which are more than 100 years old) on hillsides that receive a lot of sunlight. To get the best grapes, Roger has chosen not to use synthetic fertilizers but, on the contrary, to promote the use of organic materials (manure or compost) thus creating and maintaining microbial life. Accordingly, the grapes are fed solely using elements from the soil. Tilling, all while aerating the soil, forces the roots to dig down, seeking their nourishment as deeply as possible, and aids in extracting the “soul of the terroir”. This occurs firstly by limiting yields; “one branch and one spur” is sufficient, then optimal ripening is allowed to occur, and finally there is manual harvesting to ” respect what nature has given to us”.
In vinification: allow nature to express itself. As soon as quality wine grapes have been obtained, “making rich and concentrated wines is not difficult”. In effect, once the harvest has come to the fermenting room, it is immediately placed in a pneumatic press, which is capable of “softly extracting the materials all while respecting them”. Then, after a slight sludge removal during one night, the fermentation occurs, partially in temperature controlled tanks, the other part in “barrels”, always maintaining low temperatures, “without ever jostling nature in her work, such that the aromas and magical flavors of their terroirs are expressed”.
