Mâcon and Mâcon-villages

Mâcon is the capital of Mâconnais.

It hosts the national wine fair of France, which takes place every year in May. In addition to the national wine competition of France where thousands of samples are tasted.

AOC Mâcon

The AOC Mâcon covers 3,500 hectares, its soil is composed of clay in the north, silica or granites in the south.

The Mâcon appellation mainly produces red wine made from Pinot Noir or Gamay (this grape still exists, in fact in the Middle Ages the Duchy of Burgundy asked to remove all the vines producing Gamay except in Mâconnais, since this variety land did not belong to him). Often sold as a regional appellation of Burgundy, these are lighter wines with a cellaring potential of 2 to 3 years. They can be served with cold cuts, grilled meats, poultry or a pot-au-feu.

=> Gamay cannot exceed 30% in a red burgundy or it will be called gamay burgundy.

It also offers white wine made from Chardonnay (3 to 5 years for wines to keep). Also rosé wine from Gamay or Pinot Noir.

=> Alphonse de Lamartine was a native of Mâcon, he worked in many sectors such as politics, poetry, literature and also in the vineyards of Mâcon. He was a great winemaker !

AOC Mâcon-villages

The Mâcon-Villages appellation is produced only in white from the Chardonnay grape variety, with an area equal to 3,800 hectares, its soils are well suited to the vines because they are poor and predominantly limestone.

Small exception for the village Serrières, which is the only one dedicated to red wine.

It offers round, tasty wines with an aging potential of 5 to 6 years.

Name of the 27 municipalities that can be added to that of Mâcon (representing 1,500 hectares) :

• Azé
• Bray
• Burgy
• Bussières
• Chaintré
• Chardonnay
• Charnay-lès-Mâcon
• Cruzille
• Davayé
• Fuissé
• Igé
• Loché
• Lugny
• Mancey
• Milly-Lamartine
• Montbellet
• Péronne
• Pierreclos
• Prissé
• La Roche-Vineuse
• Saint-Gengoux-le-National
• Solutré-Pouilly
• Uchizy
• Vergisson
• Verzé
• Vinzelles

The three appellations are :

• Mâcon (regional appellation)
• Mâcon followed by the name of the town
• Mâcon-villages (regional appellation)

Pouilly-fuissé

Spurred on by the monks of Cluny, between the 11th and 12th centuries, the Pouilly-Fuissé vineyard takes off. The slopes are steep and covered with scree, the exposures vary greatly. The nature of the soil is varied, it can be clay-limestone from the Jurassic, composed of schists, sandstone limestones, green, black, purple or acid rocks.

This town is known throughout the world although it is not very extensive, the appellation has 773 hectares of vines, planted in 4 different villages (entirely dedicated to chardonnay) :

• Fuissé
• Solutré-Pouilly
• Vergisson
• Chaintré

Municipality of Fuissé :

• Le Clos
• Les Ménétrières
• Les Perrières
• Les Vignes Blanches
• Vers Chânes

Municipality of Solutré-Pouilly :

• En Montgarcin
• En Servy
• La Frérie
• Les Bourthières
• Le Clos
• Les Chailloux
• Les Morlays

Municipality of Vergisson :

• En France
• La Maréchaude
• Les Courtelongs
• Les Crays
• Sur le Roche

Municipality of Chaintré :

• Le Clos de Monsieur Noly
• Le Clos Reyssié
• Les Chevrières
• Les Plessys

Pouilly-Fuissé wine is produced at the foot of the two rocks of Solutré and Vergisson. We can speak of a high place of prehistory, many objects have been found during archaeological excavations (bones, cut flints, skeletons of Cro-Magnon men), they are exhibited at the Museum of Prehistory in "Eyzies-de-Taillac".

A site of exceptional beauty giving wines with a strong identity, with green reflections which unveils aromas of citrus (lemon, ...), yellow and white fruits (peach, apricot, ...), rocks ( flint,...). On the palate these wines are opulent, rich and after several years of aging develop aromas of dried fruits (hazelnut, toasted almond, ...). Its vineyard is the most prestigious in the Mâconnais.

The most fruity wines will go perfectly with exotic cuisine (couscous, fish tagine, etc.) as for the more mineral ones, they will rather be appreciated with lobster, oysters, sweetbreads with cream. It's divine, an explosion of flavors on the palate !

Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché share the same terroir and the same history.

Pouilly-vinzelles

Pouilly-vinzelles is a very small appellation of 52 hectares, which is located in the municipalities of Vinzelles and Loché. The hillside is gently sloping and exposed to the east, composed of clay-limestone soil.

The Pouilly-Vinzelles appellation offers a wine with aromas of candied fruit (lemon, etc.) and it can keep very well (from 5 to 10 years), it can be tasted with a duck with porcini mushrooms, a chicken cream or shellfish.

Pouilly-loché

Exclusively in the town of Loché, with an area of 32 hectares and it is a clay-limestone terroir.

A flattering wine, full-bodied in its youth and citrus notes (lemon, ...) after 5 to 10 years. It goes wonderfully with poached turbot in Hollandaise sauce, duck breast or even Mediterranean cuisine.

Saint-véran

The communal appellation saint-véran was created in 1971, with an area of 680 hectares and a predominantly limestone terroir. The vines are planted at the bottom of the slope.

The wine reveals an aromatic bouquet, on the palate a supple, fruity wine and a beautiful roundness. It can be enjoyed in its youth or wait 5 to 7 years, pleasant to enjoy as an aperitif or with grilled meats.

=> Note that the name of the town is written Saint-Vérand, with the letter "d" at the end, but when it comes to wine it does not take it and is written "Saint-Véran".

Viré-clessé

The appellation viré-clessé was born in 1999 (it replaced the AOC mâcon-viré and mâcon-clessé) exclusively from white wine made from the Chardonnay grape variety. Its vineyard faces east, 260 meters above sea level; its basement is composed of white oolitic limestone at the top of the hill and the pearly slab below.

The municipal appellation viré-clessé now covers 390 hectares spread over four municipalities :

• Viré
• Clessé
• Montbellet (north of Viré)
• Laizé (south of Clessé)

The main climates are :

• Le Creusseromme
• Le Chapitre
• Chazelle
• Roally
• L'Epinet
  
  

=> Viré-clessé is the only appellation producing atypical sweet wines in the Mâconnais region. Wines with a higher sugar content than classic viré-clessé (whose sugar content corresponds to less than 3 grams) can write the words "Levrouté" or "Demi-sec". This has been official since May 3, 2018. 

In order to benefit from these mentions, strict specifications must be observed :

• for the mention "Levrouté": the harvest must be done by hand and the sugar content must be between 8 and 18 grams per liter.
  
  
• for the mention "semi-dry": the harvest must also be done by hand but with a sugar content of between 4 and 8 grams per liter.

The commune of Clessé cumulates favorable conditions for noble rot and late harvest.

The wines of this appellation reveal notes of white flowers (peony, ...), exotic fruits (mango, ...), herbal teas (verbena, ...) and empyreumatic (blond tobacco, ...). A pleasant, balanced wine (between sweetness and freshness on the finish).

Chardonnay loses acidity and gains in residual sugars. Served as a dessert wine, accompanied for example by a fruit tart or a chocolate cake.

Wishing you great tastings !