Côte Chalonnaise/Mâcon 2022

This comes from three parcels, two of which lie on the limestone soils near the distinctive Solutré rock bringing a tension and freshness to the wine, and the third on a richer clay site near Pouilly bringing density. It has been vinified in stainless steel only and has wonderful purity and depth of fruit in 2022, packed full of beautiful peachy aromatics and flavours and culminating in a long, pleasing finish.

This is a brilliant blend of the appellation, drawn from over 50 separate parcels, 4 of which are now actually premiers crus but produced in too small volumes to be bottled separately. This all makes for a very complete and complex portrait of the region. Just over half of the parcels are on Fuissé’s typically clay soil, with the rest on limestone and sandy schist soils. Two thirds of the wine is aged in oak, with 20% of that new oak. The wine displays vibrant nectarine aromas, with a smooth, silky body. This is the flagship wine of the estate, and performs every year.

It’s fitting that Le Clos graduated to premier cru status in the 2020 vintage. It is a superb 2.7 hectare monopole vineyard of the domaine, sitting right outside the cellar door. It is home to many old vines, some of which were planted as far back as 1929. Indeed, the youngest vines you’ll find here are from 1984. These east-facing vines grow on three different soils - clay at the bottom, marl in the middle and limestone at the top. It’s the most serious wine in the Château de Fuissé cellar, with complex layers resulting from the patchwork of soil types and vine diversity. It spans apricot, peach, orange peel, honeysuckle and dried honey. The palate is balanced, deep and weighty. A zesty freshness with impressive persistence on the finish.

Claudie’s father, in his days of running a plant nursery with access to a huge range of plant material, planted seven different clones of Pinot Noir in this 2.5 hectare site. Now at 45 years old, this diversity, twinned with the quality of vineyard husbandry, means the vineyard is thriving. The different clones call for pruning and harvesting at different times, but it’s an effort worth making, as the wine is texturally sophisticated, juicy, and full of Pinot nuance. It’s open, balanced and extremely drinkable, with a touch (10%) of new oak adding a little sweet spice to the gorgeous red fruit.

Claudie makes this in exactly the same way as her Rully Montagne la Folie, but the expression couldn’t be more different. It comes from a parcel in the south-east of the appellation, near Mercurey, and makes a wine with an amplitude and volume that gives the wine weight and power. The fruit leans to nectarines and mangoes and there’s a lusciousness to the length of this wine.

This is a brilliant example of what Claudie Jobard is up to. It is a fine-boned and refined Rully, with the hallmarks of superb quality fruit and a smashingly good vintage. It comes from a south-east facing stony site, not far from the town of Chagny in the northeast of the appellation. It’s a bright, citrusy white, with a fine saline thread of acidity running through the fruit.

These vines are, almost unbelievably, 104 years old. Claudie has just 0.37 hectares in this premier cru, and admits that keeping it with the original vines is more sentimental than business-savvy, since the yields they produce are so low. But it’s wrapped up in her family history, and she just loves it too much to uproot it. Instead she works the tiny parcel by horse and hand, and makes from its fruit a floral and intense wine with surprisingly silky tannins that has the substance and poise to age with grace.

Hard to put down. At first it is pretty, floral and inviting on the nose. The palate abounds with densely packed stone fruit flavours, cut through by a fresh, taut line of acidity, showing wonderful tension. It comes from three neighbouring parcels near the cellar, from vines with an average age of 45 years. The additional clay in the soil here gives added depth and length to this cuvée.

Marcel believes this is his best vineyard. It has limestone marl soils and makes a wine with silky ripeness and plenty of freshness. Blind, it could easily come from its grander and more expensive neighbour, Pouilly-Fuissé. In 2022, it is packed full of mouthwatering juicy nectarine flavour. Don’t be afraid to age this cuvée.

This parcel of young vines (around 15 years old) lies right next to Marcel’s house. He says it’s a wine to open and enjoy young, “un vin de plaisir”. Given what good value it is you certainly can get stuck in. It’s exceedingly well-balanced, with bright stone-fruit character, and the vintage’s natural freshness.

The Chardonnay of this wine’s name actually refers to the village, although it’s a rather nice nod to the variety that is responsible for the vast majority of the wines produced in Mâcon. Clos de la Crochette is a charming walled vineyard that Dominique Lafon bought in 2003. After a little investigation he discovered it is one of the most historic sites in all of Burgundy, first planted by the monks of Cluny (c.900 AD). The energy and tension of the 2022 emphatically demonstrates why this has been a favourite spot with winegrowers through the centuries.

This 2-hectare plot lies in the north of the region, and typically produces a wine with gentler acidity than the domaine’s others. Nevertheless, it is always one of the most balanced, and one of the freshest feeling. This freshness is derived from the minerality of fruit, grown on the marl soils of Uchizy. It wraps around the perfumed fruit and makes for an impeccably balanced wine.

Many parcels are blended into this brilliant wine, all from the Viré side of the appellation. The old vines thrive in the village’s clay-rich topsoil over limestone subsoil. The wines from this side of the appellation tend to be straighter and tighter than the more generous and rounded Clessé side. It’s a wonderfully restrained wine, showing its class in its long, precise finish.

This is the pinnacle of the Lafon wines in the Mâconnais, or as Dominique used to put it, the ‘Porusots’ of the Mâcon domaine. That is to say, it is crystalline and pure, with a power, presence and precision you might expect from a much grander appellation in the Côte d'Or.

This comes from vines that lie near Saint-Véran, which tend to ripen early. The wine is perfumed and charming with notes of white blossom and crisp apple, with a creamy, satisfying palate. It’s uncomplicated but delightful, and a great window onto what the Lafons are getting up to in southern Burgundy. Great value, too.

This is the village where the Lafons’ cellar is located. This is the cuvée that most encapsulates what the Lafons are trying - and succeeding - at doing in Mâcon. It’s the calling-card of the domaine, and the wine is always fruity, juicy, and bright. The 2022 has a good volume on the palate, thanks to the concentration of the fruit which comes from these high-altitude parcels.

The Chardonnay of this wine’s name actually refers to the village, although it’s a rather nice nod to the variety that is responsible for the vast majority of the wines produced in Mâcon. Clos de la Crochette is a charming walled vineyard that Dominique Lafon bought in 2003. After a little investigation he discovered it is one of the most historic sites in all of Burgundy, first planted by the monks of Cluny (c.900 AD). The energy and tension of the 2022 emphatically demonstrates why this has been a favourite spot with winegrowers through the centuries.

The Lafons own two hectares in Saint-Véran. It’s one of their more recent purchases, Dominique having picked up two parcels in 2014 and 2016. The blend of the two sites makes a powerful and compelling example of the appellation, with some waxy yellow fruit notes on the nose and a deliciously textured palate cut through by a lemon-scented edge. It balances richness with freshness in style.