Trip to the Mâconnais and Beaujolais

[AlexR]

Last week, a group of six friends from three countries, including fellow forumite Ian Amstadt, decided to rent a gîte in Southern Burgundy and discover the wines there. Several of us are put off by wines from the Côte d’Or due to their unreliability and/or eye-watering price increases, and so were seeking more affordable alternatives – even if no one seriously expected them to reach quite the same heights.

First of all, we were all really taken with the region, with its rolling vine-covered hills as far as the eye can see. We stayed in Vergisson, a stone’s throw from Fuissé and near to two impressive geological formations rising from the plain, La Roche de Vergisson and the more famous Roche de Solutré.
Our trip encompassed the Mâconnais and the Beaujolais. While the former region is clearly Burgundian, what about the latter? The answer is that Beaujolais is entitled to several Burgundian appellations (indeed, much of the white wine used to make Crémant de Bourgogne comes from the Mâcon area), and the interprofessional organization BIVB includes Beaujolais within its remit. That having been said, of course the Gamay of Morgon and the Pinot Noir of Vosne-Romanée are different beasts, as are Mâcon-Viré and Puligny-Montrachet though made from the same grape.

Easting out is attractivelyl priced in Southern Burgundy and, as much as I love the wines of Bordeaux, I have to admit that the cuisine in the Lyonnais and in Burgundy is richer and more varied…

Anyway, here’s a thumbnail description of where we went in 4 days (17 wineries):
The first winery was only visited by myself and my wife, Christine. This was the Hameau Georges Duboeuf in Romanèche-Thorins. Try to imagine a downsized French version of a wine Disneyland and you have pretty much captured the spirit of the place. This is definitely for the general public and not terribly worthwhile for the wine geek. Nevertheless, it was something to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon and the several wines we tasted were good, but not great. The late Georges Duboeuf was referred to as the King of Beaujolais, and he did, in fact, do much to promote the appellation worldwide.

Group members all met up on Sunday evening in the city of Mâcon and stayed at the Hotel Mercure there. This was within walking distance of the Maison des Vins du Mâconnais, which has a restaurant open on Sunday evenings. That suited us just fine and we had a simple, filling meal accompanied by local white wines plus one red AOC Burgundy.
We kicked off on Monday at Château Fuissé, quite the traditional estate with 40 hectares of vines. We were taken around the cellar by Bénédicte Vincent who spent a lot of time describing the complexities of introducing the classification of 22 Premiers Crus in Pouilly Fuissé starting with the 2020 vintage. She was not very tender with the bureaucracy overseeing things… We tasted though six Puilly Fuissé wines from the 23 and 24 vintage, including their “monopole”, Le Clos (3 hectares). The wines were quite good, but not the finest we tasted.
Next stop was Domaine Cordier, also in Fuissé, where we had a great time with Christophe Cordier, a very personable and dynamic winegrower. He practices organic and biodynamic viticulture on 35 hectares of vines, 30% of which are premier cru. We tasted five wines which we found very impressive. As for Mâcon Villages wines with an appended name, this can be very confusing seeing as some 27 different towns are entitled to do so... But when you hit one of these right, they can be real gems, and champions in terms of quality/price ratio. This was the case for Cordier’s 23 Milly-Lamartine “Clos du Four”. Selling at 20 euros a bottle, we were enchanted. We bought cartons of the stuff, as well as some of his premiers crus, which are world class.
Lunch: THE place to go in Juliénas, a 20-minute drive from Cordier, is Le Coq. However, my wife suggested a more downmarket, but more authentic restaurant just up the street, Le Sarment. The 19 euro menu, including Beaujolais and coffee proved to be just the ticket and it would be hard to find better value for money anywhere in France.
Our next visit was to Domaine de La Roche Noire in Chénas. Tanguy Balvay is the friend of someone I know. A real salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, he is not really used to visitors, but welcomed us warmly. Like so many vignerons, he is a one-man band, singlehandedly doing just about everything it takes to make wine from 18 hectares of vines. We tasted his 24 Beaujolais Blanc, 25 Chénas, 25 Saint Amour, 24 Mouln à Vent et 25 Moulin-à-Vent. These were all good basic wines sold at very competitive prices. One group member bought 5 or 6 cartons.
The last visit of the day was to Domaine Richard Rottiers in Romanèche Thorins We weren’t able to meet the man himself because he splits his time between Domaine des Malandes (29 hectares in Chablis) and the Beaujolais. His 5 hectares of vines in Beaujolais, farmed organically, produce excellent sturdy wines and several of us walked away with bottles of his Moulin-à-Vent – an appellation which, when it’s very good like this, can be reminiscent of a fine Pinot from the Côte d’Or, particularly with age.
The next day started out with a visit to Domaine J.A. Ferret in Fuissé. We had a tremendously informative visit with the young, but experienced manager, Clément Robinet. Ferret was acquired by Jadot in 2008 and has always positioned itself as an élite producer of Pouilly Fuissé, with prices to match. Whole bunches are pressed in three presses, which seemed a bit like overkill at first, but with over 70 plots on 20 hectares, timing varies considerably… Ferret introduced a very unusual system for identifying their vineyards: “tête de cuvée” and “hors classe”. They have retained these names but also including “premier cru” where appropriate. We had a fascinating tasting of 6 wines from the excellent 2023 vintage, from village level to the top of the range, Le Tournant de Pouilly. The wines were uniformly good with that uniquely Burgundian controlled reduction, that “matchstick” aroma that managed never to go too far. The wines are expensive, but also very good.
Next stop was Château de Beauregard, also in Fuissé, where we were looked after by Frédéric Burrier, a friend of one of our group members. Beauregard has belonged to the same family since 1854 and has 37 hectares of vines. As opposed to the Côte d’Or, this was the only visit that included barrel tasting, always an interesting experience. The range of wines we tried was quite large, starting with the 24 Milly Lamartine, the 22 Saint Véran (an appellation which we generally came to see as tremendous value for money), 23 village Pouilly Fuissé, 22 Les Cras, Pouilly premier cru, and 23 La Maréchaude, another premier. The quality was uniformly high. Frédéric invited us to stay for a “mâchon”, a Lyonnais word for a simple snack of charcuterie, bread, and Beaujolais, but this turned out to be a full-fledged meal with a number of wines, including some quite old. This was an unforgettable experience.
Our car started to be weighed down with all the purchases we were making…
From Beauregard we went to Domaine de La Croix Senaillet in nearby Davayé. This is a modern, well-run estate with 25 hectares of vines owned and managed by the Martin brothers. We tasted through 3 wines from the 23 vintage and two from the 22. The wines were clean and irreproachable, but most seemed a little too angular for my taste.
The last visit of the day was to Château de Pierrelos, a lovely castle dating back centuries. The estate has 11 hectares of vines. It is a tourist attraction in its own right, which means that much of the wine is sold to sold to visitors, at somewhat higher prices than most other producers. We tasted through 7 wines but, unfortunately, none really stood out. The overall level was OK, but nothing special.
Our third day started with a visit to Clos la Roilette in Fleurie. They have 14 hectares of vines in several crus. We were met by the owner, Alain Coudert, in a very old-fashioned cellar. We had to step over pipes to reach the tasting room and Monsieur Coudert seemed rather gruff at first, but ended up warming to us, especially when we told about tasting his wines in our respective countries, which most of us had. The Roilette label is unforgettable! We quite enjoyed the wines: 24 Brouilly, 24 Fleurie, 24 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive, 23 Moulin-à-Vent, and the 22 Fleurie La Griffe du Marquis. These are good no-frills wines and several of us bought cases to take back home.
We enjoyed lunch at the Maison des Beaujolais in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, which also claims to have the largest selection of Beaujolais wines anywhere. The food was OK and we were guided in selecting wines to drink at table. This is a good mid-range establishment and great for wine lovers. Prices are quite affordable.
We then went to visit Domaine Marcel Lapierre in Morgon. There wines are fairly well distributed in France, especially in restaurants, and I had tasted them before. Lapierre have 20 hectares of vines, of which 18 are in Morgon. They are one of the most famous names in the appellation and were pioneers in organic and biodynamic winemaking. We were welcomed by Italian son-in-law Georgio and tasted through recent vintages of their wines. Some of them border on the so-called natural fringe and were thus not to my taste, but it transpired that the same wines could be treated conventionally or not, depending on their clients’ desires… I did not come away particularly impressed, nor did my friend who is usually a real Lapierre fan.
We finished out the day with a vist to Château Thivin in Odenas. This turned out to be one of our favorite producers. Thivin has been in the Geoffray family for five generations and we were warmly welcomed by Monsieur Claude Vincent Geoffray, who is semi-retired and has largely handed over running the estate to his son and Swiss daughter-in-law. We tasted ten wines from the 23 and 24 vintages, which we thoroughly enjoyed. I picked up a carton of the Beaujolais Blanc Clos de la Rochebonne, which was more than a curiosity. We were surprised to learn that you can put up to 15% Chardonnay into red Beaujolais. The cru wines, were all very good, and I had a soft spot for the 24 Côte de Brouilly. In any event, everyone in the group agreed that this was a stellar domaine. They even produce a weird and wonderful cuvée, Utopia, from 50% Prior, 40% Chambourcin, and 10% Souvignier – all varieties that are naturally resistant to most vine diseases.
Our final day in the Beaujolais started with a visit to Domaine Jean Foillard. We tasted through their basic AOC wines as well as their Morgon and Fleury. These were more or less in the natural wine movement of Lapierre, but were less marked by the trend and therefore more enjoyable. Still, none of the wines really moved us.
The next visit was improvised: I had heard good things about Domaine Mee Godard and since we were in Villié-Morgan and had an hour to kill, I called on the spur of the moment to ask if we could come by and taste. This is not my usual way of doing things, but Madame Godard was kind enough to receive us. All here wines lived up to her reputation: a fine 24 Beaujolais Blanc, wonderful 23 and 24 Morgon Côte de Py, and a delightful 23 Moulin-à-Vent. This were some of the most elegant wines we tasted during our trip and they were moderately priced to boot.
Lunch was enjoyed at La Terrasse en Beaujolais in Chiroubles. As its name implies, this sits on a hillside with a commanding view of the wine country. The wine list is also good, the price is right, and the portions are gargantuan. I ordered a coq au Beaujolais and was served a mammoth portion I could not hope to finish. Dessert went by the board.

Our first afternoon visit was to Domaine de la Grose Pierre in Chiroubles, an estate with about 10 hectares of vines. We were met by Pauline Passot a young winemaker full of enthusiasm. Her range consisted of fruit-forward wines in the true Beaujolais mold. Like everywhere else, there was a clear difference between the 24 and 23 vintages, the former showing greater acidity and the latter more body. I was quite taken with the 23 Chiroubles Cuvée Grille Midi and came away with a few bottles. Madame Passot confirmed that Chiroubles has the steepest slopes in the Beaujolais and that it is not easy to find people to work the vines for that reason.
Our final visit was to Domaine du Clos du Fief (Michel and Sylvain Tête) in Juliénas whose vineyard holdings amount to 16 hectares. We were greeted by Michel, who is of retirement age, and who put us through a tasting of 9 wines, mostly 23s: Chénas, Juliénas, Saint Amour, and Moulin-à-Vent. He was also one of few producers to pour Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc (Pinot Beurot). These were good, but I would be inclined to stick with the Beaujolais. The wines were forthright, fruity, and hit the sweet spot. I couldn’t help but pick up a carton. How do resist when such good Cru Beaujolais costs just 14 euros a bottle?
The purpose of the trip was to discover a new region not overrun with people willing to spend any amount of money on famous names, but to explore fruity, delicious, early-maturing wines in a region with a lower and more friendly profile. The only grower who responded condescendingly to a request to visit their cellars was Domaine Guffens-Heynen, admittedly one of the stars of their region, but we managed very well to do without. We also had an “in” at Domaine Lafon in Milly Lamartine, where the winemaker is an Anglo-French woman, but she was unfortunately away on vacation while we were nearby.
Bottom line: if you like Chardonnay and you like Gamay, the Mâconnais and Beaujolais are tremendously fun regions to visit. The people there are truly welcoming, the countryside is beautiful, the prices are reasonable… What’s not to like?

I had hoped to include the Côte Chalonnaise, but this proved to be too far away for our itinerary, so that will be for another time.

[greatbxfreak]

Interesting....

I am surprised you were not a fan of Foillard's and Lapierre's wines.

Great, you enjoyed Mee Godard and Thivin wines.

However, omitting to visit one of the best wine-growers in Morgon and in the whole of Beaujolais, Jean-Marc Burgaud, was a mistake in my opinion.

I would love to visit Beaujolais, but since I don't have a driver's license, it is difficult.

[JCNorthway]

Thanks for the very detailed and informative notes, Alex. Visiting the areas of Macon and Cote Chalonnaise is on my list for one day. I have resorted to buying most of my French Pinot Noirs and Chadonnays from these regions in recent years. There are some very nice wines being produced for still reasonable prices - especially as compared to the more well known areas up north. And your experience is causing me to have a renewed interest in Beaujolais wines which I have gotten away from in recent years.

[Nicklasss]

Very nice report Alex.

You did a very good tour, visiting some of ma favorites like Roilette, Thivin and Foillard. Did tou taste the Côte du Py Morgon at Foillard? This is simply one of my favorite red wine.

When we were in Lyon/Ampuis in January, i thought going up north in Mâconnais/Beaujolais/Côte Chalonnaise, but like you, not enough time to do so.

[finner]

Alex,
Thanks for the detailed trip report. I'm reminded to look out for more Saint Veran. An overlooked appellation; the wines have alot of energy and should indeed be considered "baby Pouilly".

[Comte Flaneur]

Apologies Alex for not chiming in on this thread much earlier, but I found I had little to add to your excellent write up of a most enjoyable and enlightening trip to this region. The fact that it rained every day did not sully the experience. I had previousy only driven past Macon and Beaujolais on the Route du Soleil en route to the Rhone or further south. The approximately 450 mile drive down from Calais to Macon was a doddle, especially with my Emovis tag.

But perhaps I can comment a little bit on some of the visits. While not the pinnacle of quality and excitement the large estate of Chateau de Fuisse – our first visit on the Monday morning (4th May) - set the tone for our visits – serious wines and not just a poor man’s Puligny or Meursault. Alex mentioned their flagship Le Clos, but the south facing Les Brules is just as impressive and a full throttle lush wine in the warm 2023 vintage. What immediately became clear was the complexity of the region and the diversity of the wines according to their terroir, most notably the altitude of the various plots – with the high altitude wines generally being more mineral and chiselled, and the lower altitude wines, lusher and more voluptuous. This applied across many of the estates we visited.

The next visit to Domaine Cordier was a highlight of the first day, and as Alex noted we were all smitten with the Macon Milly-Lamartine “Clos du Four”. In fact it was the 2024 we tasted, but we all landed up with 2023s. I have yet to try one of my 23s but the 24 is a cooler vintage and we loved the class, cool minerality and length of this wine. This is exactly why I enthusiastically signed up for this trip, because this is precisely the sort of wine I am looking for: a lot of wine for 20 euros at the cellar door. Cordier’s top tier – i.e.,1er Cru - wines – there are no grand cru…actually there are, see below - including his 2022 Les Menetries, could easily be mistaken for Grand Cru from the Cote d’Or. They are £60-70 a bottle in the UK – more like 50-60 euros at the cellar door – so they are not giving them away, but they are cheap vs GC Cote d’Or. The prices of these wines have been on a steep upwards trajectory in recent years and I suspect that might continue despite the travails of the world.

However the highlight of the trip was the visit to, and lunch at Chateau de Beauregard the following day with the irrepressible, larger than life, figure Frederic Burrier. His wines were generally a match for the Cordier wines, and the various impressive offerings from Ferret, whom we visited earlier that day, on the Tuesday morning. At our long liquid lunch with Frederic we tried some much older wines including a 2016 Grand Beauregard (white) which was rich, glorious and persistent, and a 1992 Vignes Blanches, which was just as impressive. He also served a 2000 old vines Moulin a Vent Beaujolais, which was in fine shape and nicely resolved but not particularly complex.

Domaine Ferret is a must visit and the quality of the wines, and the meticulous attention to detail that goes into making them, is exemplary. The legendary Madame Jeanne Ferret (died 1993) invented her own classification of ‘Tete de Cru’ (de facto 1er Cru) and Hors Classe (de facto GC). We had a superb tasting with their Hors Classe wines – Les Menetrieres and Tournant de Pouilly - priced at 88 euros at the cellar door.

Of the Beaujolais producers I really liked the Domaine Richard Rottier wines at the end of the first day, and am kicking myself now for not splashing out on a mixed sixpack. Really the essence of Beaujolais, which I will come back to. But Clos La Roilette in Fleurie on Wednesday morning was my favourite Beaujolais producer we visited. A hardcore trad style, which I really came to like. I was less smitten by Lapierre in the afternoon with its optional organic approach. Thivin, last visit on Wednesday, which I have purchased in the past, is one of the best Beaujolais producers I have tried but nothing we tasted on our visit obliged me to get my cheque book out – though I actually did buy a copy of Natasha Hughes’s book on Beaujolais on sale there for 15 euros.

We had to skedaddle back on the Thursday and it looks like we missed out on some really good visits. Our gite, which is owned by Frederic Burrier, who is a good friend of Jean-Francois - Alex’s good friend from Bordeaux who was on the tri - was within walking distance of several good wineries including Barraud. We tried to arrange an 0830 visit there at short notice on Thursday but we had no reply, but we did go instead to Domaine Guerrin, where we did a speed date tasting and came away with a dozen or more bottles at compelling prices, before hitting the auto route.

My two takeaways are 1) that there is so much to like in the Maconnais and I expect to buy a lot more from there in the future, and I learned more about Beaujolais. Our host at Lapierre – an Italian heart throb who reminded me a bit of the Arsenal left back Riccardo Califiori - noted that Beaujolais was wine essentially invented to quell the thirst of the working classes and notably underpaid hospital workers. Without trying to come across as dismissive, Gamay is not a noble grape variety, like for example Pinot Noir; just as similarly, Pinotage, as I said before, is the ugly step child of Pinot Noir. But there are some compelling wines from the region and I think there is a place for Beaujolais in my cellar. It just remains for me publicly to thank my dear friend Alex for arranging this fabulous trip.

[JimHow]

What a fun read. We have some of the best writers in the world right here at BWE, now in its 27th year.....

[greatbxfreak]

I was tempted to start tasting Bojo wines some years ago by someone from BWE, I can't remember the name, unfortunately.

I think I started with Thivin, then Jean Foillard, Alain Coudert (Clos de La Roilette), and then Jean-Marc Burgaud. Mee Godard and Lapierre followed after.

Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie and Morgon! It has been a great treat and a new discovery. I remember Alex looking at me a few years ago and saying, "Izak, I have never thought you liked Beaujolais". What about yourself now, Alex??

Ian, did you actually taste the whole range of Thivin wines, meaning Cuvee Zaccharie and Cuvee Godefroy? Les Griottes de Bruilhie?

Alain Coudert makes fantastic Fleuries for little money and in three versions. Formidable wines.

I was surprised that Jean-Marc Burgaud was omitted. This guy makes probably the best Morgons you can get, and they are not expensive. Missed opportunity.

[stefan]

Great and informative thread, guys. Jim's comment

>>
We have some of the best writers in the world right here at BWE, now in its 27th year.....
>>

was spot on.

[Comte Flaneur]

I was tempted to start tasting Bojo wines some years ago by someone from BWE, I can't remember the name, unfortunately.

I think I started with Thivin, then Jean Foillard, Alain Coudert (Clos de La Roilette), and then Jean-Marc Burgaud. Mee Godard and Lapierre followed after.

Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie and Morgon! It has been a great treat and a new discovery. I remember Alex looking at me a few years ago and saying, "Izak, I have never thought you liked Beaujolais". What about yourself now, Alex??

Ian, did you actually taste the whole range of Thivin wines, meaning Cuvee Zaccharie and Cuvee Godefroy? Les Griottes de Bruilhie?

Alain Coudert makes fantastic Fleuries for little money and in three versions. Formidable wines.

I was surprised that Jean-Marc Burgaud was omitted. This guy makes probably the best Morgons you can get, and they are not expensive. Missed opportunity.

Yes I think we tried all three Thivins Izak.

The Zac 24 was good but at 39 euros I passed.He opened at 09 Zac which like other examples of aged Beaujolias we tried on the trip was not especially complex. The rewards to aging these wines do not seem to be as great as for the more noble varieties. The 24 Griottes had a slight off putting rubbery taste, something that Alex would describe as “empyreumatic’…I think we had the Godefroy but I can’t see it in my notes. Alex?

[greatbxfreak]

Ian,

2024 isn't a representative vintage for Beaujolais, nor is 2021. You could have asked for 2019 or 2020!

Which vintage did you taste at Mee Godard?

[AlexR]

At Thivin, we had their two Beaujolais Blanc from 2024, followed by 23 Reverdon Brouilly, 24 Côte de Brouilly, 24 Mes Griottes de Brulhié (Côte de Brouilly), 24 La Chapelle (Cöte de Brouilly), 24 Cuvée Zaccharie (Côte de Brouilly) 23 Côte de Brouilly aged in a cement egg (same as Cuvée Zaccharie, but without oak), and 200 Cuvée Zaccharie.
The wines were among the best tasted all week and I had a particular soft spot for the Pinot-like Cuvée Zaccharie.

At Mee Godard, we tasted the 24 Beaujolais Blanc (an impressive example), 24 Morgon Corcelette, 24 Morgon Grand Cras, 24 Morgon L’Evêque, 24 Morgon Côte de Py, 23 Morgon Côte de Py, 23 Moulin-à-Vent Au Michelon, and 24 Morgon Passerelle 577. Very elegant, well-made wines and the visit with Mee was wonderful.

AR

[KevinH]

I’m not sure there is a representative vintage in Beaujolais. It depends what it is, what style you like and when you want to drink it. Hot sunny years tend to produce bold ripe wines best for early consumption if they are lush and easy going (2018, 2022) or for long term if they have more structure and tannins (2015). 21 and 24 were both less good vintages overall but they will produce some great wine with freshness and clean flavours. I’m certainly picking up a few. Some of the best, ageworthy Beaujolais I’ve had has been from less heralded vintages (2012, 2013 in the past and I’m still hanging on to some 2017s).

[Comte Flaneur]

I enjoyed a really superb Clos de Roillette Fleurie over the weekend - I purchased three bottles privately for just £20