Mâconnais

The Mâconnais is currently perhaps Burgundy’s most dynamic region. In the past, only Pouilly-Fuissé – a source of rich and ripe white wines – stood out from the crowd, but not only are such satellite appellations as Pouilly-Vinzelles and the newly-created (i.e., in 1998) Viré-Clessé coming alive, but a new generation of growers are also now producing some excellent Mâcon-Villages. These wines used to be cheap and simple, rarely lasting more than a year or two after the vintage, but now one or two growers in each village are making proper, oak-aged, complex, and reasonably concentrated wines which will develop well in the bottle. 53 hectares of AC Mâcon (70% white). 406 hectares of AC Mâcon-Superieur (75% red). 1,840 hectares of AC Mâcon-Villages. Best individual villages include La Roche Vineuse, Lugny, Milly-Lamartine, Chardonnay, and Mâcon-Uchizy. 291 hectares of AC Saint-Véran. Recommended producers include Domaine des Deux Roches, and Olivier Merlin. 47 hectares of AC Pouilly-Vinzelles and 31 hectares of AC Pouilly-Loché. Recommended producers include Bret Bros and Domaine de la Soufrandiere. 211 hectares of AC Viré-Clessé. Recommended producers include Bret Bros, and Domaine Sainte Barbe. 764 hectares of AC Pouilly-Fuissé. Recommended producers include Ch de Fuisse, Ch des Rontets, Bret Bros, Olivier Merlin, and Cordier.