Arnaud is continuing Denis' dream of producing more refined wines: openly getting closer stylistically to the wines of his uncle, Charles Rousseau, without sacrificing depth and intensity or consistency across the range. Denis was already “backing off” the extraction in the pursuit of greater elegance but Arnaud is taking this even further, not only via shorter and gentler macerations, but also by reducing the percentage of new oak used. At the same time the vineyard work chez Mortet is at the very highest level. Horse is now used to plough all 1er and Grand Cru vineyards (in order to minimise soil compaction) and organic/biodynamic practice is now being trialed in these sites. Machines are no longer used in any sites and all the work, including spraying copper/sulphur which is done via backpack.
The yields remain very low (much lower than Rousseau) and the fruit selection (triage) is also much more severe. Lower yields and stricter triage will always result in richer, more intense wines, at least when the wines are young.