Description
The Mâcon Cruzille appellation, so dear to Julien Guillot (Clos des Vignes du Maynes), is almost an afterthought, such is the extent to which the name of the Manganite cuvée defines the wine in the minds of connoisseurs. It is arguably one of the finest Gamays (made from small-berried grapes) in Burgundy, and indeed in neighbouring Beaujolais. Notes of red berries mingle with hints of rose and a majestic minerality imparted by the limestone soils, identical to those of the Aragonite cuvée. The texture is silky, the palate delicate, and the overall profile is one of great freshness. It is not uncommon for the taster to mistake it for a great Pinot Noir.
In the vineyard, in the cellar
- Appellation: Mâcon-Cruzille
- Grape variety: Small-berried Gamay (planted in 1953).
- Area: 2 ha
- Terroir: A 6-hectare vineyard plot planted by the monks of Cluny Abbey around 910. The subsoil is of the BATHONIAN type, dating from the Middle Jurassic period; these are hard limestones found throughout Burgundy. The distinctive feature lies in the pearly-slab limestone, which produces magnificent limestone crystals: calcite-aragonite. The shallow soil, ranging from 5 cm to 50 cm in depth, is of a clay-limestone type. It consists of clayey silt formed by colluvial processes on weathered pure silt that is highly calcareous and rich in silica, imparting a lovely minerality to the wines.
- Vines: Pruned to single Guyot then Cordon Royat / Soil cultivation / Manual debudding on the vine and at the base
- Yield: 28 hl/ha
- Farming: Organic farming since 1954 and biodynamic farming since 1998.
- Vinification: Hand-harvested with sorting on the vine and on the sorting table if necessary. Cold pre-fermentation in conical wooden vats / Fermentation with indigenous yeasts, without SO2
- Ageing: on lees for 11 months without racking / Bottled under nitrogen in September without SO₂ or filtration.
What to eat with a Mâcon Cruzille Manganite from Clos des Vignes du Maynes?
- Quail with peas
- Eggs in red wine sauce
- Rabbit in mustard sauce
- Mont d'Or, Époisses
