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BURGUNDY
– VINEYARDS –
Véran appellation is perfect for many restaurants. On the
whole, they say, every winegrower here has their own
distribution network. Unlike neighbouring Pouilly-Fuissé,
where negociants are very active, as a young appellation
Saint-Véran has allowed winegrowers to establish their
own, individual customer base.
M. Mollard, the cellar master at the Vigne Blanche winery in Viré Cléssé
In Viré Cléssé, Chardonnay is best appreciated when fully ripe
CAVE DE LA VIGNE BLANCHE:
BOUTIQUE-SCALE VIRÉ CLÉSSÉ
The village of Cléssé is home to a small co-operative
winery with around fifteen grape suppliers, who harvest
fruit from 90 hectares of vines. Located in the middle
of the Mâconnais, the villages of Viré and Cléssé, which
have long been close allies, secured their own stand-alone
appellation in 1999. The area is very small and produces
only 25,000 hl a year. But it does have a micro-climate
and some specific features, explains the cellar master
Mr. Mollard.
The rainfall regime, for example, is different. Also, the local
custom is to harvest a little later than in the surrounding
villages. Consequently, the wines are a little rounder,
weigh in at 14% ABV and have around 4 g/l of residual
sugar, whereas a classic Mâcon is more 1 g/l. Although
acidity is slightly less pronounced because of this, and
winemakers who buy for the trade often require tartaric
acid to be added, the winery’s cellar master deliberately
takes a more hands-off approach. The appellation style
is at stake! The difference between a Mâcon and a Viré-
Cléssé is all the more marked in cool vintages, which
will likely be the case for the 2021s. Also, some blocks
are planted with a particular grape variety – Chardonnay
Muscaté. The heirloom cultivar is very fragile at flowering,
but if this coincides with good weather, the juice lends the
wines a faint Muscat-touch on the palate, making them
incredibly aromatic. In recent years, the warm spring of
2018 reproduced these sensory characters well.
Some areas promote the onset of noble rot, allowing sweet
Chardonnays to be produced. Overripe grapes affected by
botrytis are locally referred to as ‘levroutés’, because their
skin is similar to that of a hare’s coat. Use of the term has
now spread and it designates sweet wines with up to 18 g/l
of residual sugar, even when there is no noble rot.
54 AUTUMN 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE