Maconais- Burgundy Flashcards
Macconais- Background
Chardonnay, worthy of comparison and contrast to Chablis, more valleys, different in altitude. 90% Chardonnay. Clay on limestone. Rather hot- higher maturity. Best known wines: Pouilly- Fuisse, lots of different villages can go into Pouilly- Fuisse
Macconais- Subregions
Warm continental climate, limestone soils. Chardonnay the dominant grape (red wines account for no more than 30% red production- mainly Gamay). Large co- operatives are important. Macon AC and Macon Superieur AC (which requires 0.5% extra potential alcohol) have crisp acidity, citrus and apple characters with creaminess from MLF. Macon villages (and Macon with a named village) are white wine only; 43 different villages. Good value for money. Wine made from one or a combination of the villages. Two villages of importance are Lugny and Vire. Similar in style to Macon AC but more ripeness and body.
Pouilly- Fuisse
White wine only. Natural amphitheatres that act as sun traps. Wines produced ten to be full bodied and ripe with peach, melon and nutty and buttery characters, from barrel ageing. The villages of Vire- Clesse AC, Pokily- Vinzelles AC, Pokily- Loche and Saint- Veran AC have their own appellations.
Cote Chalonnaise
Red and white wine-producing region in the Saône-et-Loire département of burgundy between the côte d’or and Mâconnais. The Côte Chalonnaise takes its name from the town of Chalon-sur-Saône, which had been an important celtic trading centre in Ancient gaul. As well as generic bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise, mostly red from the Pinot Noir grape, there are five village appellations: mercurey, which stands apart in both quality and price, produces mostly Pinot Noir with small quantities of white wine; givry the same; montagny is exclusively a white wine appellation growing the Chardonnay grape; rully offers both red and white wines and is a centre for the sparkling wine industry in a small way; while bouzeron uniquely has its own appellation exclusively for the Aligoté grape. Although the soils in the Côte Chalonnaise are similar to those of the Côte d’Or, being based on limestone with a complex admixture of other elements, the vineyards are more scattered since there is no regular escarpment to provide continuity of suitable slopes. Viticultural practices are broadly similar to those in the Côte d’Or. Vinification is sometimes carried out in barrels, although only the best producers use any new oak. Bottling normally takes place in the summer before the new vintage. Maximum yields for Mercurey are the same as those for village wines in the Côte d’Or, whereas the other appellations of the Côte Chalonnaise may produce a little more. Although cheerfully fruity while young, few wines from this region have enough body to age well. The Côte Chalonnaise is well served by co-operatives such as the Cave de Buxy, such négociants as Antonin Rodet and Faiveley, and growers such as Stéphane Aladame, Dureuil-Janthial, François Lumpp, Michel Juillot, and de Villaine.
Macon
Important commercial centre on the River Saône and capital of the Mâconnais dynamic district of burgundy which produces considerable quantities of white wine and some red. Unlike in the Côte d’Or to the north (see map under france), vineyards on the rolling limestone hills of the Mâconnais are interspersed with land dedicated to livestock and arable farming. Côte d’Or producers as renowned as Leflaive and Lafon are investing in this southerly region. The climate and ambience of the region differ from the Côte d’Or however: southern tiles are used for roofs, cicadas can be heard in summer, and the vineyards benefit from more sun, less rain, and little risk of frost. beaujolais is to the immediate south of the Mâconnais. Viticultural practices are broadly similar to those in the côte d’or, except for the widespread use of lyre training systems, although yields may be a little higher, up to a permitted 55 hl/ha (3 tons/acre). Vinification is sometimes carried out in barrels, although only the best producers use new oak. Bottling normally takes place in the summer before the next vintage. The appellations of Mâconnais, in approximately ascending order of quality are, for white wines made from Chardonnay: Mâcon; Mâcon-Villages or Mâcon followed by a particular village name (for more details of which, see mâcon-villages); st-véran; Pouilly-Vinzelles, Pouilly-Loché, and Pouilly-Fuissé (for more details of which, see pouilly-fuissé). Red wine appellations are Mâcon and Mâcon followed by a particular village name. Almost all these red wines are made from the Gamay grape since, although Pinot Noir is permitted, such wines may be sold as bourgogne Rouge at a higher price than Mâcon fetches. In 1998, the village of Viré and the adjacent hamlet of Clessé were given their own single appellation viré-clessé. Leading producers include the Bret Brothers, Guffens-Heynen and his négociant company Verget, Merlin, Vincent, and Thévenet.
Macon- Villages
Appellation covering the great majority of the white wines of mâcon. The wines may be sold either as Mâcon-Villages or as Mâcon followed by the name of the particular village. Viré and Lugny have been the best known by virtue of their co-operatives. The full list of 26 villages or groups of villages with the right to the appellation is: Azé, Bray, Burgy, Bussières, Chaintré, Chardonnay (whence the grape may have taken its name), Charnay-lès-Mâcon, Cruzille, Davayé, Fuissé, Igé, Loché, Lugny, Mancey, Milly-Lamartine, Montbellet, Péronne, Pierreclos, Prissé, La Roche-Vineuse, St-Gengoux Serrières (reds only), Solutré-Pouilly, Uchizy (whites only), Vergisson, Verzé, and Vinzelles. Most Mâconnais wines are vinified in stainless steel or glass-lined concrete vats for early bottling and consumption within a year or two of the vintage. A handful of growers are producing significantly finer wines through low yields followed by barrel fermentation and barrel maturation.
St- Veran
Appellation created in 1971 for white wines from the Chardonnay grape in southern Burgundy, between Mâconnais and Beaujolais, to include much of the wine that was once sold as Beaujolais Blanc. St-Véran encompasses seven communes: Davayé, Solutré-Pouilly, and Prissé on classic limestone soil adjacent to pouilly-fuissé and Chânes, Chasselas, Leynes, and St-Vérand, where the sandy red soil of Beaujolais is mixed with limestone. By 2011 703 ha/1,735 acres were declared under vine. The wines frequently have more body and ageing ability than a typical mâcon-villages without rivalling the power and persistence of the wines of Pouilly-Fuissé, which forms an enclave within St-Véran. When the appellations were created, Davayé was offered the opportunity to be included in Pouilly-Fuissé but declined.
Vire- Clesse
White wine appellation created in 1998 by separating out two of the top Mâcon-Villages, noted not just for their quality but for the rich style of their wines. Bizarrely, the appellation initially banned wines with residual sugar such as those made by Jean Thévenet of Domaine de la Bon Gran, but common sense subsequently prevailed. Although most wines are vinified dry, Viré-Clessé tends to produce heady, full-bodied whites of a sunny disposition.
Pouilly- Fuisse
Important white wine appellation which commands the highest prices in the mâconnais district of Burgundy. The appellation, restricted to the Chardonnay grape, includes about 850 ha/2,100 acres in the communes of Fuissé, Solutré (which includes the hamlet of Pouilly), Vergisson, and Chaintré (see also mâcon villages). The richest wines are said to come from Fuissé and Solutré-Pouilly, those of Vergisson being fresher and more mineral from vineyards at a higher elevation. a little lighter but elegant. Various single vineyards have traditionally been cited alongside the appellation and work is in progress to codify a classification of premier cru vineyards. As well as in the amphitheatre of Fuissé, grapes are grown in sun traps beneath the two impressive crags of Solutré and Vergisson which mark the end of the limestone plateau on which all burgundy save Beaujolais is grown. A popular myth is that the soil beneath the crags was enriched by the remains of animals driven from the top of the cliff by Stone Age hunters. The wines are full bodied and ripe but do not usually attain the elegance of the finer wines from the Côte de Beaune. Normally bottled after a year’s barrel maturation, they are capable of ageing well thereafter, particularly those of Domaine Ferret, the Ch de Fuissé and Guffens-Heynen (the family domaine associated with the négociant Verget). Prices can vary enormously depending on the demands of major export markets in a given year. The small village of Pouilly also lends its name to two adjacent lesser appellations, pouilly-vinzelles and pouilly-loché.
Pouilly- Vinzelles
Borrowing the prefix from its more famous neighbour in southern Burgundy pouilly-fuissé, the village of Vinzelles has its own small appellation of 51 ha/126 acres, most of which forms a steep, east-facing slope overlooking the valley of the Saône. The best vineyard is Les Quarts and the leading producer Domaine de la Soufrandière. Otherwise most production is in the hands of the local co-operative, as is the case also for Pouilly-Loché, an even smaller appellation of 29 ha which may be sold under the name of Pouilly-Vinzelles (but not vice versa).
