Charles Dagand – Carlito

Charles Dagand used to be one half of the dynamic l’Octavin team but they went their separate ways. Now, Charles is back making his own wines and has agreed to supply us for distribution in Australia.

We are delighted to be receiving small quantities of his unique and delicious wines.

Charles Dagand – Carlito Vin de France Charpindo 2018

This is a delightful white wine made from Chardonnay (95%) and Pinot Noir (5%) from vineyards near the village of Abergement-le-Grand which lies just a few kilometres to the west of the main town of Arbois.

Charles is certainly demonstrating his skills in both tending the vines and making the wine. The Pinot Noir is pressed quickly to ensure that none of the colour is leached from the skins, so that a white wine results. The Chardonnay is pressed separately.

The fermentation for this wine was very slow due to Charles’ very cold cellar. It lasted right through winter! After the two wines had fermented separately they were blended and matured until bottling.

RRP 750ml: SOLD OUT

Charles Dagand – Carlito Vin de France Presque Blanc 2018

The Presque Blanc is a new cuvée for Charles. With this one he pressed Pinot Noir grapes directly to create a white wine.

If you read our November 2020 newsletter we have a story about most grapes having clear juice except for a small number of teinturier grapes such as Gamay de Bouze and Alicante Bouschet which have red juice. This means that if you direct press most red grapes and immediately separate the juice from the skins you create a white wine.

Charles did this but the juice was in contact with the skins for a short time so the resultant juice looked like a rosé, so he added a bit of red juice to make it look less like a rosé. This is where the name comes from. The word “presque” in French means “nearly” or “almost” – in other words it is “almost white”!

The result is a delicious, light wine that is very versatile.

RRP 750ml: SOLD OUT

Charles Dagand – Carlito Vin de France Wouj 2018

The Wouj is another new cuvée for Charles. With this wine, he destemmed 75% of the grapes and placed them in a tank.

He then topped the grapes with the remaining 25% of whole bunches and closed the tank to undergo carbonic maceration for almost 9 months!

In June 2019 he pressed the juice to create a lively and fruity red wine that is light in colour but big on flavour.

RRP 750ml: SOLD OUT