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by Producer Château de Belleverne, La Chapelle de Guinchay Domaine Combier, Prissé (Mâconnais) Domaine des Deux Fontaines, Fleurie (Beaujolais) Domaine Michel Delorme, Vergisson Domaine de Rochemure, Le Perréon (Beaujolais) Domaines Sylvain Rosier, Châtelard, Lancié (Beaujolais)

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The Mâconnais

It is a good stride down the A6 from Montagny to the town of Tournus (on the River Saône) being the northern extreme of the large Mâconnais region. The principal villages or communes of this region lie to the west and south-west of Mâcon itself, the commercial hub of the region which majestically straddles the Sâone.

The 9,400 hectares of vineyards are scattered amongst the rolling hillside villages interspersed with livestock, arable farms, and orchards. The soil is predominantly limestone and clay which is well-suited to the cultivation of chardonnay and pinot noir vines. The white Mâcon wines tend to be light-medium in body, dry, and often of high quality with mineral tones. The best whites come from either the Mâcon-Villages appellation or have one of the many permitted village names. The best-known of these are Mâcon-Viré, Mâcon-Fuissé, Mâcon-Lugny, Mâcon-Clessé, and Mâcon-Prissé. Generally speaking the reds of the region vary between very mediocre to quite attractive and interesting, such as Mâcon-Burgey Rouge.

The next wine is Saint-Véran, another step-up in quality generally, but variable in styles and quality between the producers. The best white of the region is certainly Pouilly-Fuissé, from the villages of those two names and also from the very picturesque hillside commune of Vergisson which sits under the spectacular Rock of Vergisson. The wines have complex mineral and citrus tones, are fairly full-bodied, and have a long dry finish.  Just west of Pouilly is the even more spectacular Rock of Solutré. Two other appellations which produce fine wines from this area are Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché.

The Beaujolais

The Beaujolais region is immediately south of the Mâconnais and the stunning countryside of rolling hills just continues on down. Whilst most of the well-known Villages wines (known as the Beaujolais Crus) fall within the Rhône Département the wines are still treated as “southern burgundies”. This is a large viticultural region stretching way south of Villefranche-sur-Saône.

This region is where the gamay grape comes into its own. Regretfully, there is so much inferior and uninteresting wine produced and sold under the Beaujolais and even Beaujolais-Villages AC labels. During the 2004 and 2005 harvests much of the bulk wine has remained unsold and will be distilled into industrial alcohol. For this reason trade buyers have to be wary and do their research thoroughly.

We give you relevant information on each Beaujolais Cru travelling north to south.

Saint-Amour: this is the only Beaujolais Cru wholly in the Saône-et-Loire Département. 280 h/a on sandy clay soils; the wines have good finesse and fruit, a ruby colour, with hints of cherries and a touch of spice. Drink between 1 – 3 years.

Juliénas: The village was named after Julius Caesar. 580 h/a on a soil of schist, granite and clay. A good sinewy wine and a bouquet reminiscent of peaches and cherries – due to the clay soil element. Best at 2 – 3 years.

Chénas: 260 h/a on granite and sand soil. Fairly full-bodied and similar to the neighbouring Moulin-à-Vent but not as fine. Best between 3 – 5 years of age.

Moulin-à-Vent: 650 h/a on granite soil rich in manganese; the most powerful and longest-living of the Beaujolais Crus with a deep ruby colour and ripe spicy fruits. Good for drinking between 5 – 10 years old.

Fleurie: 800 h/a on granite sand. This Cru has been popular particularly in the US and UK markets. It probably has the most finesse and fruit of all the Crus. Drink 3 – 6 years of age.

Chiroubles: 400 metres altitude and the highest vineyards of all the Crus. 350 h/a nestling in a granitic amphitheatre. A supple and elegant wine with a fine red colour and a flowery nose of peonies and violets.

Morgon: 1,100 h/a on a soil of broken schist and granite. A full and fleshy style with an individual wild cherry flavour. It needs ageing and is at its best 5 – 8 years old.

Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly: The latter is on the higher slopes of the Montagne de Brouilly. Brouilly has the largest vineyard area covering 1,200 h/a on granite and alluvial sand. It has a deep ruby colour with a bouquet of plums and peaches. Wines from the centre of the appellation are more robust and need more time to age. The Côte de Brouilly wines are the highest in alcohol of all the Beaujolais Crus, due to the volcanic soil. They are elegant and need time to evolve.

A mention should be made of the substantial proportion of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages which is released every November after the harvest as Nouveau or Primeur. The UK trade imported considerable volumes of the young wines in the 1970’s and 1980’s since when its popularity has been on the wane. Much is still consumed on the French domestic market.

Finally, a small proportion of the regional wine production is Beaujolais Blanc from the chardonnay grape. The wine can be indifferent but with Domaines Sylvain Rosier we have found both white and rosé gems!