French sandstone jarre supplier (230L-1200L).
Vin et Terre is a company located in Bordeaux France that produces different styles of “jarres” or jars made of “grès” or sandstone for the fermentation but predominantly the aging of delicate, elegant and minimal intervention wines. These sandstone jars have a very strong following throughout France and other European wine regions. The jarre’s sizes range from 230 Liters to 1200 Liters.
Patrick Lalanne is the founder and owner of Vin et Terre and is originally from Bordeaux. For over 40 years he has supplied the French wine industry with winemaking materials and has always been impressed by the results of ceramic vessels for aging wine. With contacts in the ceramic industry, Patrick decided to design and patent his own product range of grès sandstone jarres for winemaking purposes.
Vin et Terre crafts their jarres exclusively from sandstone clay (grès), which has a high concentration of SiO2, found naturally in “silex,” also known as quartz. The craftsmanship technique of these jarres was invented by Chinese ceramic specialists and was later developed in Northern Europe.
The jarres are assembled via different layers of sandstone clay and the finished jar is then cooked at over 1300 degrees celsius or 2372 degrees fahrenheit. After being cooked, the jarres are extremely durable and resistant to chemical and temperature changes.
These jarres allow the wines to express their varietal characteristics and showcase their crystalline and mineral components resulting in very linear, high tension and focused wines that have gained complexity due to the very slight microxidation qualities of the jarres.
The jarres perform best for the elevage of white wines or delicate elegant reds.The different shapes designed by Patrick allow for different fluid dynamics that impact the rate of the elevage of the wine. Because the porosity of the vessel is less than 2.5%, it allows for a very slow micro-oxidation process that adds complexity to the wine and can be easily controlled and monitored. These jarres allow the wines to express their varietal characteristics and showcase their crystalline and mineral components resulting in a very linear styled wine.
VIN ET TERRE’S GRÈS SANDSTONE JARRES STYLISTIC POINTS
-
Made from naturally occurring clay
-
Caters best for whites or very delicate reds
-
Enhances varietal characteristics, minerality and crystalline aspects of wine resulting in linear driven wines
-
Microporosity < 2.5% allowing for very slow mitigated micro-oxidation
-
Pores are 0.004 microns
-
Resistant to 3.8 bars of pressure
-
Low conductivity characteristics (1.3 Wm-1 K-1)
-
Thermal inertia characteristics
-
Can be used for fermenting or aging
-
Durability and very smooth interior allowing for easy cleaning
-
Suited for longer elevage programs
-
Jarres range from (220 L - 1200 L)
