in the cellar : After the addition of selected yeasts, the juice, together with the skins, were allowed to ferment at controlled temperatures of 25?C and 28°C. During fermentation, skins that tend to rise to the top were regularly pushed down to cool the cap and to optimise flavour and colour extraction. At 5°B, juice was drained from the skins and the fermentation allowed to continue in closed tanks. Any juice remaining in the skins were recovered with the use of a gentle tank press. After allowing for malolactic fermentation to complete, the wine was racked from the lees and transferred to 225 L oak barrels for maturation.