Nicolas Maillet, in the vineyard and in the cellar

Nicolas Maillet’s vineyard is situated on clay-limestone slopes with two main aspects: east and south-west. The vineyard is managed using organic farming methods (AB certification monitored by Ecocert). Particular attention is paid to soil management, with the elimination of chemical herbicides and regular ploughing throughout the year, in order to encourage deep root development in the vines. This also helps to maintain significant microbial activity within the soil. The grapes are harvested by hand using small crates, ensuring the utmost care is taken to preserve the integrity of the grapes. 

Finally, in keeping with our commitment to showcasing the distinct characteristics of each terroir, no commercial yeasts are used. Fermentation takes place using the yeasts naturally present on the grapes from the various plots. As a result, alcoholic fermentation proceeds very slowly, lasting between 6 and 10 months, which produces wines with very subtle and delicate aromas.

An increasingly early grape harvest

The extremely early harvest of 2003 (the year of the heatwave) is no longer an isolated case. Like the 2018 and 2019 vintages, the 2020 harvest was early, with the start of the harvest declared on 19 August. These recurring conditions further justify the need to work organically, as Nicolas Maillet explains. This is to preserve the plant’s balance and ensure phenolic ripeness. Flowering, drought and heat are leading to increasingly uneven levels of ripeness. Harvesting is taking place at increasingly scattered times, even within the same estate.

Winemaker of the Year 2021

Nicolas Maillet has been named Burgundy’s Producer of the Year by Bourgogne Aujourd’hui magazine:

The art of being a farmer. Smiling and approachable, Nicolas Maillet has a cheerful, infectious nature. He is passionate about the profession of winemaking, which he chose in the late 1990s, and is in his element when he is amongst his rows of vines; 2021 has been a trying year, as it has been for many of his colleagues. “I am a farmer at heart and I never thought I would struggle to picture the future. Nature is a thousand times stronger than us.” His eight hectares, cultivated organically and biodynamically, are located within the Mâcon appellation and are predominantly planted with Chardonnay. He attaches great importance to plant material, for example by grafting the vines himself. The estate’s anchor is Verzé, with a fine heritage of old vines and the birthplace of his flagship cuvée, Le Chemin Blanc. In pursuit of maximum purity, his whites are aged entirely in vats.

The Guide to France’s Finest Wines

This family-run estate has been bottling its own wines since 1999. Nicolas Maillet continues his father’s work with great consistency, focusing primarily on his old vines in the village of Verzé. He offers a range of wines (certified organic since 2008) that are very pure and appealing, distinguished by their complete absence of any oaky notes. Year after year, the estate also delights us with its delicious Gamay grown on clay-limestone soil. A red Mâcon-Verzé – yet another favourite.

The wines: the Aligoté captivates with its purity; it is mouth-watering, briny and refreshing – an instant delight. The Mâcon-Igé, with its notes of peach and flowers, offers a concentrated structure without losing any of its freshness or subtlety. With its citrus and lemon notes, Mâcon-Verzé shines with its smoothness and length, offering a refined and savoury character. Le Chemin Blanc, with its hints of mint, peach and almond, is particularly refined, possessing a natural mineral tension that makes the mouth water. The famous red Mâcon-Verzé, with its delicate fruitiness and peppery accents, delights us with its cheerfulness: a ribbon of silk and raspberries, a Gamay celebrated for its most refined oak ageing. (Source: RVF)

A few photos of the Nicolas Maillet estate