After tasting more than 1,200 Burgundy 2020 en primeur samples, Charles Curtis MW has given his full verdict on the new vintage.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 51 Mâconnais wines that scored 90 points and above.
Wines are listed in score order.
| Producer | Appellation | Score | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guffens-Heynen, Premier Jus des Premiers Crus | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 96 | This is a lush and complex wine, with an evocative nose of ripe pear, mineral, smoke and flint, that opens up to show great density and length on the palate. Superb. The Guffens style of winemaking is to choose ripe fruit, crush prior to pressing and then press in one single go, barrelling down with most of the lees and fermenting in 25% new casks. This selection of the best terroirs produces a rich result, with a very smoky, reductive side. As Guffens notes: 'It is the grapes and the method that make the difference.' Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, Clos du Four | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine) | 2020 | 94 | A ripe apple fruit tending slightly towards the tropical. The fruit is pressed as whole clusters and fermented in large casks to give a wine of lovely concentration, complexity and expressiveness - one of the top wines of the Mâconnais. Lafon has 1.4ha in the Clos du Four, which is considered one of the premier sites in the Mâcon appellation. The east-facing vineyard with its stony soils is planted mid-slope at about 250m, making it one of the later-ripening sites, but the fruit ripens well here. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Sur la Roche | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Vergisson) | 2020 | 94 | There is a supremely lively lemony freshness on the nose, accented with a saline minerality and subtle shadings of white flowers. The aromas carry over on the palate, particularly the minerality. Despite the cool climate here, the wine is not lacking richness - the Guffens style, ably executed by winemaker Julien Desplantes, sees to that. This site near the Rock of Vergisson is exposed to the northeast. Further around the rock to due north would be St-Veran. These are high-altitude, poor soils directly on the limestone and this is always the last parcel to be picked. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Le Haut de la Roche | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 94 | This Pouilly-Fuissé is produced from a site at the top of Sur la Roche, part of which is premier cru. The top of the lieu-dit, however, was not classified, hence the name. Here the soils are more directly on the limestone and the combination of this soil, the altitude and the south-facing slope gives the wine an exquisite balance between lemony freshness and a rich, almost tropical, orchard fruit character. Elements of mineral, butter and spice mingle on the lingering finish. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ferret, Hors Classe Tournant de Pouilly | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Reisses) | 2020 | 94 | Shows a pronounced ripe apple character, with hints of hazelnut and chamomile. On the palate, there is density, power and length—a noble wine. In the language of the house, this has long been labelled 'Hors Classe - Tournant de Pouilly'; it is known officially as premier cru Les Reisses. The soil is very chalky and sits on a low-fertility foundation of Bathonian limestone. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pierre Vessigaud | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Reisses) | 2020 | 94 | A nice mix of lemon peel and passionfruit, with a texture that is both silky and firmly fresh, almost chiseled. A super wine. The Vessigaud holding in the east-facing premier cru Les Reisses has now increased to 0.5ha of vines between 60-80 years of age. The wine handling has also evolved, using a shorter settling to ferment and with more lees. This gives the wine a beautiful texture and a lovely point of 'good bitterness'. The must is fermented in old 600-litre demi-muids to preserve the purity of the fruit. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Bussières) | 2020 | 93 | Ripe apple fruit, with floral notes and a suggestion of minerality. The texture is supple and rich, with a lingering weight on the palate. Produced from a 0.74ha parcel in the lieu-dit of En Monsard in the village of Bussières, which benefits from the same geology as Pouilly Fuissé, with thin clay and white marl soils. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine) | 2020 | 93 | The fruit is lemony and bright, and the richness is balanced by a lively acidity, although there is still impressive breadth and density on the palate. This is produced from a number of parcels that total almost 5ha, all exposed to the east between Bussières and Sologny. The grapes are gently pressed and fermented in a combination of large oak foudres and neutral demi-muids, and thus receive no influence from new oak. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Uchizy) | 2020 | 93 | The wine has a ripe apricot and quince nose, plus a rich, waxy texture that is supple, elegant and long. The grapes for this cuvée come from two parcels in the lieu-dit of Les Maranches located in the village of Uchizy and that total 2ha. The grapes are gently pressed and fermented in large oak foudres without any influence from new casks. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud, La Roche | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Vergisson) | 2020 | 93 | Domaine Barraud has produced here a lovely, lemony 2020 that is not lacking richness while maintaining a thrilling freshness. The lieu-dit Sur la Roche stretches around the Roche de Vergisson, covering three levels of appellation: Pouilly-Fuissé premier cru on the lower, southeast facing slopes, village-level Pouilly-Fuissé above this, and regional Mâcon-Vergisson as the hill wraps around to face northeast. However, it is precisely here that one will find the most chiseled, mineral expressions of Chardonnay in a hot year. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 93 | This is a wine of impressive balance and length, produced from a number of parcels spread over nearly 2ha in Prissé and Davayé that ripen grapes early, yet the fruit has retained a lively acidity. Fermentation is done in a combination of large oak uprights and neutral demi-muids in order to maintain the purity of fruit, with alcohol kept at a modest (for the vintage) 12.5-13%. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Viré-Clessé) | 2020 | 93 | Shows a ripe passion fruit aroma, with a floral edge and a ripe, lush texture on the palate. Lafon is the owner of the Château de Clessé, with a number of parcels that total nearly 6ha planted in fairly deep clay soils, and some of the vines were planted in the 1950s. This is an early-ripening terroir, but the grapes were picked early and do not exceed 13% potential alcohol. Fermentation was done in large oak foudres and demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Les Combes | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 93 | This wine is intensely aromatic, with hints of coconut, passionfruit, butter, spice and honey. The texture is equally compelling, with a lovely creamy richness and beautiful length. Exotic and wonderful. These are very old vines - the youngest planted in 1955, the balance in 1938 - which produce tiny grapes and very low yields (due to millendrage), however they are not classed as premier cru. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Crays) | 2020 | 93 | In 2020 the balance is particularly deft, with a ripe apple fruit enlivened by crisp lemon peel notes and a saline undercurrent. The texture is dense but very elegantly balanced, and there is no sense of heaviness at all. This is top-flight Pouilly-Fuissé. The vineyard is just below the Rock of Vergisson, with 50-year-old vines that face due south. The exposition delivers richness, the limestone delivers minerals. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ferret, Tête de Cru Le Clos de Jeanne | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Perrières) | 2020 | 93 | There is more toasty ripe apple to the nose than citrus; the wine is perhaps a bit heavily wooded, but holding it well. On the palate, there is substantial extract and length, but enough freshness to balance everything out. Formerly called Le Clos and located in the premier cru lieu-dit Les Perrières, this 0.64ha site in the village of Fuissé was baptised Le Clos de Jeanne in 2020. It has always been among Ferret's top sites, yielding a powerful and concentrated wine. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Château-Fuissé | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Le Clos) | 2020 | 93 | Located in the heart of the village of Fuissé itself, on thin clay and marl soils over limestone at the top of the slope. The oldest vines were planted in the 1920s; average age is 60 years old. The wine is aged in cask on the lees and stirred every fortnight. It is a rich style, with a nose that is almost honeyed, showing floral notes and a ripe apple, almost pineapple fruit. The texture is dense and very long; it is a classic of the region and very traditional in style. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Sur la Roche) | 2020 | 93 | From a 0.75ha holding in one of the top lieux-dits in all of Pouilly-Fuissé, this has a marvellously citrusy fruit on the fresh attack. The fruit is lightly crushed and fermented in a combination of large and small casks on the lees for a year, followed by additional ageing in tank. A fantastic reference for the entire region. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Rijckaert | Mâconnais (Mâcon La Roche-Vineuse) | 2020 | 92 | Really stands out with its surprisingly bright, fresh citrusy fruit, elegant texture and good freshness on the palate. Located on the slopes between Prissé and Verzé east of Mâcon, this is produced from east-facing slopes planted in red clay over limestone. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Chardonnay) | 2020 | 92 | The wine features ripe, almost tropical aromas and a lush, dense texture on the palate. The Clos de la Crochette boasts 2.6ha of south-facing slopes in stony clay soils. This early-ripening parcel was picked in August to keep the alcohol in check, and the grapes were gently pressed and fermented on native yeasts, in a combination of large foudres and demi-muids. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pierre Vessigaud, Les Tâches | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Fuissé) | 2020 | 92 | Delicious. A beautifully pure lemony fruit comes through, with hints of smoke and saline mineral notes. The texture is lively and fresh, yet there is enough substance here to warrant ageing for up to a decade. This 0.8ha parcel of 35-year-old vines is 350m above Vignes Blanches. The grapes are pressed as whole clusters, then fermented and aged in used casks. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Prissé) | 2020 | 92 | Open, accessible aromas of ripe apple and flowers. The texture is rich and broad, yet there is enough acidity here to keep everything in balance. Lafon owns 0.88ha in the lieu-dit La Verchère, next to St-Véran. The grapes were fermented exclusively in large oak foudres. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de la Garenne | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 92 | A lovely, expressive wine with a lively, lemony fruit displaying a mineral cast. The cask ferment and ageing have marked the wine subtly and the spice notes are well integrated in the overall profile of the wine. This is a new site for Domaine de la Garenne, based in Azé. They purchased the parcel of vines in the lieu-dit Sous la Roche in Vergisson from Jean-Claude Lapierre, mayor of Fuissé. The fruit is gently pressed, settled overnight and fermented in cask (30% new). Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ferret | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 92 | Beautiful lemony fruit, with mineral notes and bright aromas of acacia flowers. On the palate the texture is silky and lively, but there is a pleasant creamy edge to give balance. First-rate Chardonnay. This cuvée is a blend of many parcels over 9.5ha. The grapes were picked at 13% potential alcohol and fermented in stainless steel tanks, with a large percentage of the lees to give it more body - more were used in 2020 than ever before. After fermentation, the wine was aged in used tanks. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Rijckaert, En Crèches | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 92 | A buttery, creamy wine, with a nice lemony twist to it, good depth and a surprisingly long finish. A standout. En Crèches is located next to Vergisson in Davayé: ‘The best Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards that aren't in Pouilly-Fuissé,' according to one winemaker. The vines are located on the lower slopes of the Roche de Vergisson. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Saumaize-Michelin, Les Crèches | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 92 | Fermented in cask and aged for a year, there is a ripe apricot and quince fruit, with an edge of minerality. The texture is typical of St-Véran, with a bit of weight and substance on the palate, but there is enough freshness to carry the wine to a satisfying finish. Produced from just one hectare of vines in Davayé split into two parcels - one 40 years of age and the other 60 years, this stood out in a blind tasting. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Lieu (Inter)dit | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 92 | Tasted blind, this was a wine that stood out, with aromas of ripe pear, apple and hazelnut, with a bit of smoke and spice from the oak, and definite influence from the fermentation in cask. Once revealed, the source of the wine made sense - this is almost textbook Verget. There is a lot of richness here, but there is enough freshness to carry it off. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Vigne de Saint Claude | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 92 | Despite the received wisdom about the Guffens method and the St-Véran appellation, this is a model of freshness and elegance, with bright lemon peel aromas, a silky texture and lots of finesse. Marvellous. A blind tasting stand-out, this comes from a parcel of vines in Prissé, gently pressed and fermented in cask (25% new). Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Cordier | Mâconnais (Viré-Clessé) | 2020 | 92 | Produced from sustainably farmed old vines in Viré-Clessé, this wine punches above its weight. Although somewhat marked by the wood (which is very well done), this shows fresh lemony fruit and decent acidity to balance the dense, creamy texture, and leads us to an impressive finish. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Eric Forest, La Roche | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 92 | The wine is lightly crushed and fermented in cask (two-thirds François Frères, one-third Chassin) to yield this wine with lovely citrus peel and exotic tropical fruit on the nose. The texture is rich and broad, yet balanced by a crisp acidity that brings the wine to life and leads it to a lingering finish. This is from the lieu-dit La Roche in Vergisson, but not the premier cru part (it is at 400m altitude). Forest feels the limits on the premier crus are misbegotten, noting that this is a fairly precocious site. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget, Les Vernays | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 92 | The wine is rich and dense, showing hints of ripe apple, apricot, quince and passionfruit. The texture is creamy, yet there is marvellous balance here as well. One can almost feel the extract - this is a wine that should live for decades. From 0.2ha of very old vines in Fuissé. Guffens purchases the fruit, but negotiates the right to farm the vines and to pick it himself. Once he has brought in clean, ripe fruit, he presses gently and barrels down in old barrels almost without settling. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Sophie Cinier | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Vers Cras) | 2020 | 92 | From a 0.3ha parcel of old vines in the lieu-dit Vers Cras on the border between Solutré-Pouilly and the village of Fuissé. The wine has a balance between bright lemony fruit and richer notes of butter and hazelnut. The texture is creamy, but not heavy, and the aromas from the cask ageing are nicely integrated on the finish. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Château-Fuissé, Tete de Cuvée | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 91 | The nose has a lovely floral note and a ripe apple fruit touched with honey. It is a rich style, but it is balanced and very elegant, with a fleshy, powerful texture on the palate and impressive length. This complex wine is blended from more than 100 parcels. 30% is fermented in tank - this being the young vines from lieu-dit Vers Chane on schist and granite soils. The grapes are slowly pressed without destemming. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ferret, Tête de Cru Clos de Prouges | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 91 | A substantial wine, not quite heavy, but displaying rich, ripe apple fruit with an edge of honey. This was one of the first Jadot acquisitions and the domaine owns 2ha in total. The oldest vines are 70 years of age, planted in marly soil. They ripened well in 2020, were picked at 13% alcohol and fermented in cask (25% new). Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Marcel Couturier | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 91 | This was a standout in my blind tasting of the Mâconnais, impressing with its bright, forward aromas of lemon peel and apple. There is a nice weight on the palate that is balanced by fresh acidity, while the well-integrated aromas from the cask ageing complement the wine without overwhelming the fruit. Well done. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Raphael Sallet | Mâconnais (Viré-Clessé) | 2020 | 91 | The wine is rich but surprisingly fresh, with notes of ripe apricot, apple and lemon peel, and a texture that is supple and dense, but not heavy. Produced from 2.62ha of vines in the commune of Viré from the lieux-dits Le Chapitre, Brechem and La Fortille. The grapes are gently pressed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel to keep a startling purity of fruit. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud, En Buland | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 91 | From the north-facing slope of En Buland, this is not classified as premier cru, yet it has produced a marvellous wine, with notes of ripe apple, smoke and flint. The texture deftly balances the bright, minerally citrus fruit, a hint of passionfruit and a richness that work together to draw the wine to an elegant and lingering finish. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Verget | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Crays) | 2020 | 91 | This cru is located in Vergisson on south-facing slopes in iron-rich clay over the limestone. This profile often suffered blocked maturation here in 2020, but Verget picked at full ripeness to produce this wine with its luxurious aromas of ripe apple, marzipan and butter. The texture is dense, but admirably balanced, and the extract carries this to a rich, lingering finish. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud, Clos de la Verchère | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru La Maréchaude) | 2020 | 91 | This has a lovely, spicy, ripe apple fruit and a delightfully creamy texture with no hint of heaviness. The domaine has always produced single-vineyard wines and this is one of the most long-standing. It is made from south-facing vines in a clos downslope from Les Crays. The fruit is lightly crushed prior to pressing and fermented on native yeasts in cask (15% new). Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pierre Vessigaud, Les Rossins | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 91 | Ripe apple fruit, with a nuance of marzipan and acacia flowers. The texture is silky and very elegant, with enough acidity to balance, but an overall feel that is sensual and approachable now. This parcel is not included in the premier crus of Pouilly-Fuissé, but at more than 60 years of age it comprises some the oldest vines of the estate. The grapes are gently pressed as whole clusters before fermentation and ageing in large used casks. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pierre Vessigaud | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Vignes Blanches) | 2020 | 91 | A wine with a lovely, ripe apple fruit and a touch of honey on the nose. This is a bit more substantial and perhaps slightly less forward, yet it is a classic style of Pouilly-Fuissé. Produced from a 0.6ha parcel in Vers Agnières (one of the lieux-dits in Vignes Blanches), these mature vines are planted in clay and limestone soils. 2020 here was a very warm, sunny year and the grapes were pressed firmly as whole clusters, since a bit of phenolic material gives structure to the wines. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Château des Rontets, Pierrefolle | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 91 | This is produced in the Fuissé lieu-dit of Vers Chane, which differs from much of the appellation in that it is on thin soil over granite - no limestone or clay. The vines face due east and give a fairly generous result with a ripe apple fruit, hints of beeswax and hazelnut, but no heaviness at all. A marvellous wine, it is aged 18 months in used casks and then another six months in tank to ensure purity of fruit. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Rocs, En Chantone | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Loché) | 2020 | 91 | The fruit is gently pressed and fermented in large casks to produce this wine with notes of ripe apple, white blossom and marzipan on the nose. The texture is rich and creamy, but not heavy, with notable balance and finesse. Pouilly-Loché is located southwest of Solutré-Pouilly. This bottling is from 0.65ha of very old, organically farmed vines. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pascal Renaud | Mâconnais (Mâcon-Solutré-Pouilly) | 2020 | 90 | Another standout from my blind tasting of wines from the Maconnais, this is a bit riper in register than some of my favourites, but the complex blend of ripe apple, baking spice and butter accented by a hint of lemon peel won me over. It is a richer style, but well balanced, with a creamy texture that lingers invitingly on the palate. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Closerie des Alisiers | Mâconnais (St-Véran) | 2020 | 90 | Produced by Stéphane Brocard through his negociant business in the Maconnais, this a worthy effort, with a light lemon yellow colour and pleasantly ripe nose, lemon peel and apricot fruit, then some notes of mineral, smoke and spice. On the palate there is good complexity of flavours, pleasant freshness and impressive length for this level of wine. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Les Grands Crays, Le Clos du Château | Mâconnais (Viré-Clessé) | 2020 | 90 | This tank-fermented Chardonnay has a pleasantly forward lemony fruit, with floral accents and touch of honey. On the palate, the wine has a good balance of freshness and a rich, silky texture. From the east-facing slopes of lieu-dit Le Chateau in the village of Clessé. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Les Grands Crays, Les Vignes de Crays | Mâconnais (Viré-Clessé) | 2020 | 90 | Produced from the lieu-dit of the same name in the village of Clessé, this tank-fermented Chardonnay has a lovely purity of flavour, with notes of ripe apple and citrus peel. The texture is generous and broad, but there is a fine balance between the rich, waxy texture and the fresh, lively acidity on the palate. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Barraud | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru En France) | 2020 | 90 | This shows a ripe apricot fruit, with a floral edge and a rich, velvety texture that shows admirable balance and restraint. This is produced from grapes grown on 0.6ha of vineyards, 0.45ha of which is classed as premier cru. The vines are located on a limestone outcropping in clay soils with a darkly-coloured iron oxide. The fruit is lightly crushed and fermented in casks from Dargaud & Jaeglé in Romanèche-Thorinsen for one year, followed by three to four months in tank. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine David Fagot | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru La Frérie) | 2020 | 90 | Crisp, refreshing and with a primary appeal of bright lemony fruit. The texture is silky, almost rich, but there is a very pleasing balance that keeps the wine from being heavy. Pleasant indeed. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Carrette | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Les Chevrières) | 2020 | 90 | Chevrières is on an east-facing vineyard in Chaintré near the bottom of the slope with fairly rich soils. The result here shows more ripe apple fruit aromas than citrus, touched by a bit of oak and floral aromas, almost verging on honeyed. Some will find it dense and almost a bit heavy, but this is the classic Pouilly-Fuissé style and there is complexity and balance here as well. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Pierre Vessigaud, Pierre à Canards | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé) | 2020 | 90 | This has a ripe apricot and quince nose, with a suggestion of lemon peel and mineral. The texture is a bit more dense and lush than its neighbour Les Tâches. The result is classic Pouilly-Fuissé in an attractive if slightly richer style. This is from a small parcel near the top of the slope at 350m, where Vessigaud has 0.3ha of 70-year-old vines. The fruit is gently pressed as whole bunches and fermented in large used casks prior to an extended 18-month maturation in cask and tank. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2035. Click to see full details | |
| Verget | Mâconnais (Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Sur la Roche) | 2020 | 90 | The wine has a smoky allure, with notes of mineral, lemon peel, quince and butter. On the palate, there is a lovely richness, an almost tropical note to the fruit and a dense texture that is very alluring. This is very close to the parcel of Mâcon-Vergisson, but faces southeast and is thus classified with Pouilly Fuissé. The grapes are picked ripe and carefully pressed without rolling the press, before being run into cask with most of the lees for fermentation and reductive ageing. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2035. Click to see full details |