New Arrivals from Julien Guillot at the Clos des Vignes du Maynes!
Our first shipment of 2024 from Julien Guillot at the Clos des Vignes du Maynes has just arrived, featuring tiny quantities of the outstanding 2022 "Cuvée Auguste" and "Manganite."
New this year!
The 2020 Macon-Villages "Maxcération" - 13 days maceration of Chardonnay, 22 months aging in foudre, "the presence of beard hair does not alter its quality in any way."
2022 Macon-Cruzille "Au Quin Chateau" - 100% Chardonnay from young vines, certified Biodynamic, planted in Martailly-lès-Brancion (just north of Cruzille) on white marl and blue marl terroirs, similar to the soils of the Jura, while Cruzille is usually known for its limestone soils. Manual harvest, direct pressing, 8 months of aging in barrels, racking, bottled without fining or filtration.
The old favorites...
The 2022 "Cuvée Auguste" is a superb Burgundy made from massale selection Pinot Fin planted in 1964. The parcel, high on the slope in Cruzille, is on Bathonian limestone with a great deal of calcium carbonate crystal (aragonite) with thin topsoils of clay and silica, giving yields of 20hl/ha. The 2022 "Manganite" is made from Gamay Petit Grains planted in 1953, grown on a limestone parcel high in magnesium. Both reds are made in a combination of carbonic and normal fermentation, using layers of grapes in whole-clusters and de-stemmed grapes, with zero additives. 2021 Macon-Cruzille "Les Chassagnes" is from massale-selection Chardonnay - the walled vineyard (clos) was abandoned around 1880 after the phylloxera epidemic, replanted in 2005. The virgin soil is rich with humus from the forest that had grown on it. The very thin layer of soil (15 to 30 cm) is clay-limestone. The colluvial deposits of clay loam covering a layer of very calcareous and siliceous weathered limestone give the wine its beautiful minerality. 6 magnums only.
Wines from outside the Clos
Julien makes superb wines from small organic or Biodynamic parcels in the Mâcon and Beaujolais, vinified with the same techniques. Of particular note in today's email is the lovely 2022 Mâcon-Villages which is a superb white Burgundy for current enjoyment or cellaring for ten to fifteen years. Julien's vinifications produce outstanding Beaujolais and we're happy to offer the 2020 Morgon "les Charmes" from biodynamic grapes sourced from a great parcel formerly owned by our friend Roland Pignard. The beautiful 2022 Chenas "Les Petites Pierres" is made with organic grapes from old vines grown on clay with granite stones over the granite bedrock.....
...and the Maxceration of Chardonnay
Max has been an integral part of the Vignes du Maynes team for many years now. His rustic red beard can be spotted from many meters away, and his jovial air matches or at least comes very close to the level of the indefatigable Julian Guillot. First gracing the label of Megamix, Max's newest cameo is on the label for this skin contact wine, and it does not seem like photoshop was used for this label, which shows Max fully reclined in a vat of grapes. Julien tells us that "the presence of beard hair does not alter its quality in any way." All Chardonnay, with 13 days of maceration, and 22 months aging in foudre, this is a flavorful and aromatically intriguing skin contact ("orange") wine. Notes of lemon meringue, apple sauce and quince on the nose, and subtle orchard fruit on the palate. The wine has just arrived, which may explain why it is currently not a two-day wine (i.e. we recommend drinking it within 2-3 hours of opening). Whether or not it gains some stability after the voyage, at 10.5% it would be hard not to down the bottle in one sitting with a few friends.
A bit of History from Julien: "The Clos des Vignes du Maynes was first recorded on cadastral maps by Burgundian monks. Its origin dates back to 910, the year Cluny Abbey was founded by the Duke of Aquitaine. The domaine was originally owned by the seigneurs of the Château of Cruzille, and then belonged to a farming family for five generations before being bought by Pierre and Jeanne Guillot in 1952. The vineyard has therefore never had any chemicals used on it and has always been farmed with the greatest respect for the earth. From the very outset, my grandfather decided to make wine organically, using no chemicals, herbicides, pesticides or sulphur. My father, Alain, later took over the domaine, keeping the same philosophy.
A bit of Philosophy: "My aim is to make wines that are to be shared, for people who enjoy drinking wine, who are looking for a generous and pleasant wine. The achieve this, we try to produce stable wines in the most natural way possible. We take risks in our vinification methods, but it is very important for us that the wines be easily approachable... I think that the feeling you get in your mouth is very important: the texture of the wine, its silkiness or velvety touch. I like the salinity on the palate that brings a sharp minerality, a perfect match with fine cuisine. I am looking for finishes that reflect the wine’s terroir as authentically as possible. It is essential for the geology to come out in each wine, be it granite, limestone or white clay. The grape variety is actually less important because it simply acts as a vector for the terroir."
Vinification (Les Rouges): Our winemaking is carried out in the most natural way: with native yeasts, without sulfur, without enzymes and without any chemical inputs. The wooden vats are washed beforehand, they are brushed with Burgundy marc to awaken the yeast flower. During the manual harvest in small boxes, we carry out very careful sorting so as not to damage the grapes, so that each bunch arrives in the vats in as clean a condition as possible. On our red wines, we then carry out a semi-carbonic maceration according to a well-defined method, the result of three generations. The principle is to create a sort of mille-feuille made up of several superimposed layers of whole bunches and destemmed grapes. The latter will produce a first juice which will flow, then begin to ferment, producing the beginnings of yeast activity (with the sugars) which will make it possible to produce this material, this silkiness that we are absolutely looking for in our wines. At the same time, as the vat is saturated with carbon dioxide, we have an intracellular fermentation which allows us to obtain these elegant, floral aromas of roses and peonies, typical of Pinot Noir. Then, after four or five days, we do a mini pumping over, very light, accompanied by a punching down of around 20 centimeters on the top of the vat. The goal is to release the sugars and yeasts, and this is the start of the fermentation which we want to be long so that we can calmly accompany it.
