Burgundy the second: Mâconnais & Beaujolais

In our last article, we spoke a little about Chablis, the northern region of Burgundy. Today we’re jumping far to the south. So: Back to Burgundy!

We’re now in the warmest part of Burgundy, where the boundaries of two wine regions overlap: Mâconnais and Beaujolais. The first is once again the realm of Chardonnay, whilst in the second the red Gamay grape thrives.

Mâconnais

The region was already recognised as particularly suitable for wine production before the arrival of the Romans, but the main impetus came from the monasteries of Tournus and Cluny in the Middle Ages. Under the relative stability of the monastic order, the monks were also the first to identify specific crus, which enabled a systematic categorisation of the parcels.

Here the Chardonnay grape grows on limestone, covered with clay or alluvial soil. The warmer climate compared to the rest of Burgundy suits the white grape perfectly, which accounts for almost 90% of the region’s production. Most white wines are sold under the designation Mâcon Blanc or Bourgogne Blanc. Similar story for the few red wines (mainly from Gamay), which are sold under the Mâcon Rouge label or often, if made from Pinot Noir, under the more valuable Bourgogne Rouge label. The AOC Mâcon-Villages is theoretically a higher tier, but to get into the real game, we need to look for the name of one of the 26 villages permitted on wine labels. Viré-Clessé, Saint Véran, Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles are just some of the names that, compared to other areas of Burgundy, can guarantee high quality at a good price.

At the very top of the list of villages is undoubtedly Pouilly-Fuissé. An irregular topography, interspersed with limestone-rich hills that are rich in alkaline clay. Each vineyard site displays different facets of Chardonnay, with some south-facing slopes ripening two weeks earlier than those facing north. What all the best Pouilly-Fuissé wines have in common is a fullness and juiciness that can only improve over time.

Beaujolais

Beaujolais would not be a wine region without Gamay, the main grape in the region, which accounts for 98% of total production. It was indeed a fortunate encounter between Beaujolais and Gamay. The grape was banned in 1395 from the central part of Burgundy to make room for the more famous and valuable Pinot Noir. Pushed southwards, it found the granitic soil and warmer temperature of Beaujolais, in which it thrived.

The wine region is divided into two parts, clearly distinguishable by the position of the various appellations. Bas Beaujolais in the south, mainly flat and with rich soil made of sandstone and clay. Here is the home of the famous/infamous Beaujolais Nouveau, produced under the Beaujolais AOC. The northern part (roughly taking the town of Villefranche as a reference point) is where most of the Beaujolais-Villages AOC and the Crus Beaujolais AOC are located. Here the soil consists mainly of slate and granite with some limestone.

Under the Cru Beaujolais AOC there are some underrated gems, distributed across 10 areas (in Beaujolais the term „cru“ identifies an area rather than a single vineyard): Brouilly, Régnié and Chiroubles produce lighter wines; Côte de Brouilly (higher slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Brouilly), Fleurie and Saint-Amour deliver medium-bodied wines. The four other crus offer full-bodied wines that can be consumed between four and ten years from the vintage: Chénas, Juliénas, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent.

From lightly chilled light wines to something older and more complex, Beaujolais is the perfect region for affordable Burgundy wines of outstanding quality.

Bret Brothers

The winery that best represents the overlapping geography of the two wine regions is Bret Brothers, also known as La Soufrandière.

Jean-Guillaume and Jean Philippe Bret are part of the new wave of producers under the name La Soufrandière who revived the Côte Mâconnais after the stagnation of the 1980s. With a focus on biodynamic viticulture and hand harvesting, La Soufrandière stands for character and identity. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately to showcase the identity of each Climat. Pouilly-Vinzelles Climat Les Quarts and Pouilly-Fuissé Climat Au Vignerais are wonderful starting points for exploring the different facets of this terroir.

But the exploration of the regions south of the Côte d’Or does not end in the Mâconnais. In Beaujolais, the brothers work under the label Bret Brothers, also sourcing grapes from friendly winemakers. The same high quality standards of La Soufrandière are applied here. The Gamay grape is the perfect complement to Chardonnay in the brothers‘ portfolio. Precision and drinkability are mandatory, together with beautiful minerality and the absence of obvious oak flavour. Julienas Climat La Bottière and Fleurie Climat Poncié are just two examples of varieties and differences between the individual villages of Beaujolais. And the Bret brothers are definitely the right winemakers to show us these nuances.

A small selection:

In the next part of this series, we then turn our attention to the heart of Burgundy. Names like Beaune, Côte de Nuits and Meursault already sound intriguing from afar…