FRA_GG_N45-WEB

BURGUNDY
– VINEYARDS –
top-ranking blocks, 1 er Cru classification is ongoing, and
Lambolley hopes it will reach completion in maybe 2 to
3 years’ time.
In 2016, the co-operative winery brought together a
group of 20 young winegrowers to create an iconic label,
the winery’s ultimate offering. Blocks from 5 different
vineyard sites are selected for the strong minerality and
structure they instil in the wines. The soils are ploughed
by horse, excess grapes are removed by cluster thinning,
the fruit is picked by hand, and the wines are neither
fined nor filtered. The overriding ambition here is to do
everything to perfection. The resultant label has been
named Révélis, a micro-batch of 1,500 bottles. The
producers’ pride is tangible.
A group of young winegrowers presenting the Révélis label
DOMAINE DE LA FEUILLARDE:
AN ALMOST UNBROKEN EXPANSE OF VINES
Also in Prissé is Domaine de la Feuillarde. Owned by the
same family for four generations, 18 of its 20 hectares
under vine are in a single block surrounding the buildings.
The Thomases, who mainly produce Saint-Véran with
a little Pouilly-Fuissé, point out that the reason Saint-
Véran is generally finer than a Mâcon, even a Villages, is
because the soils are slightly shallower – the bedrock is
not far below the surface. Grass cover is deliberately used
in every other vineyard row to manage water resources
and the soils are mainly hoed to limit the use of weed
killers. Although the property is not organic, it is not far
off. For the last five years, green harvesting has not been
necessary because yields are naturally low. 2021 proved to
be a particularly difficult year, with frost, hail and mildew!
They’ll be happy if they make 20% of the usual volume,
and they may not even have enough wine to tide them
over until 2022.
Low yields do not preclude a variety of labels. The
Thomases make three: ‘Tradition’, which is bottled early;
Vieilles Vignes, where the wines are matured for 9 months
on the lees; and ‘Prestige’, matured in 500-litre barrels
made from Allier oak, which leaves less of a stamp on
the wines. The Thomases, who take part in numerous
exhibitions, sell a lot directly to private customers and
the restaurant trade. The market positioning of the Saint-
Thomas family
AUTUMN 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 53