MUTAGE: THE ORIGIN OF VDN SWEET NATURAL WINES
In 1285, Arnau de Vilanova, then Regent of the University of Montpelier and physician to the Court of the Kings of Majorca in Perpignan, made a fascinating discovery. He discovered the marriage between the grape liqueur and its brandy. This is called mutage. His knowledge came from his exchanges with Arab alchemists who taught him how to obtain alcohol from the distillation of wine.In concrete terms, the addition of eau-de-vie to the must, stops the fermentation process and thus allows the natural conservation of the unfermented sugars. The natural sweetness is thus preserved. The addition of alcohol to the must also neutralises the yeasts, which prevents a second fermentation in the spring. The term "Muté sur grain" is used to describe the addition of alcohol at the very beginning of the process. The alcohol is added to the must before pressing. This means that the juice still contains solid particles such as skin, pulp and pips at this stage. The brandy is added 'over the grain', before fermentation.Depending on the type of wine desired, it can be muted more or less late. The later the alcohol is added, the drier the wine. This is because the sugars are converted into alcohol during the fermentation process. Depending on whether the mutage is done before, during or after fermentation, different aromas develop. In the AOC Banyuls, the harvest is always late. Thus, the sugar level is already high at the time of harvest.Once fermentation has stopped, maceration lasts from one to three weeks, depending on the type of wine the winegrower wants to obtain. The longer the maceration, the higher the anthocyanin, tannin and aroma content. The wines obtained are intended to be kept for a long time.
VINS DOUX NATURELS :
Sweet natural wines
Oxidative environment :
The wines of this type of ageing are put in oak demi-muids or in tuns of 60 to 300 hectolitres. These types of containers allow contact between the wine and oxygen as they are not filled to capacity. This exchange with oxygen leads to a change in colour of the wine towards amber for white wine and towards a tile colour for red wine. Typical aromas of this type of ageing are then revealed, such as caramel, coffee or cocoa.
Rancio wine :
A wine called "rancio" is a wine that has been aged for a long time in an oxidative way. This long exposure to oxygen gives the wine its famous "rancio" taste. This refers to particular aromas of overripe fruits, walnuts, caramel and coffee.
Reductive environment :
A wine matured in a reductive way as opposed to an oxidative way, is a wine kept in a sealed tank. The tank is made of stainless steel and is full. Since there is no contact with oxygen, the evolution is very slow and this allows the conservation of primary aromas and the freshness of the fruit. The wine resulting from this type of ageing is bottled very quickly.
