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The Mâconnais is a transitional region not only of Burgundy, but of France: it links the Côte d'Or and Chalonnais with the Beaujolais, and begins to turn the northern landscape gently meridional. Though Burgundy's most populous viticultural zone, it retains a charm and small naturalness belonging to another era. A trapezoidal area of roughly 25 miles north to south and nine miles east to west, its vineyards cover 12,600 acres of which only slightly more than half produce white wine. Generally undistinguished Gamay, red wines are relegated to the lowest common denominators of Mâcon or Mâcon-Supérieur. In contrast, Chardonnays from the concentration of villages in the region's southern third fall under the Mâcon-Villages appellation, with or without a village name; and those at its southern extremity, in Pouilly-Fuissé and the surrounding villages, reside at the summit as the crus of the Mâcon. At 90,000 hectolitres, Mâcon-Villages represents over 80 percent of the average annual white wine production of the Mâconnais. Despite its presence during the Roman occupation, viticulture only became important in the Mâconnais in the 11th and 12th centuries under the monks of the Abbey of Cluny. For centuries the wines were consumed exclusively in their region of production. Story has it that they escaped obscurity through the efforts of a grower named Claude Brosse. Enterprising, erudite and unable to sell his wines at home, in 1660 he determined to enlighten the court at Versailles of their qualities. He set out with two casks of his finest wines and after 33 days arrived. Soon afterward, he attended mass at the chapel, and as Louis XIV entered, Brosse knelt with the rest of the assembled. His imposing stature, however, made him appear still to be standing, and following the mass, Louis XIV summoned him. Brosse's motives intrigued the king; he tasted the wines and immediately pronounced them far superior to his current source of supply. Claude Brosse's fortune, and the repute of the Mâconnais, were delivered. The Mâconnais' varied soils are dominated by chalk and stony limestone mixed in some areas with slate, well suited to the Chardonnay vine. Maison Louis Jadot maintains purchase agreements with growers in the region based on the quality of the wines in each vintage. Mâcon-Villages Jadot is a clean, fresh Chardonnay with typical varietal fragrance and elegant, citrus and white fruit flavors on the palate. Vinified without oak contact, the delicate acid balance carries into a refreshing, crisp finish. |
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