FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

Southern Burgundy

BURGUNDY SOUTHERNBURGUNDY

South of the Côte de Beaune, between Chagny and Beaujolais, there’s a subtle shift in climate. This ismarked by a clear change in architecture, noticeable in theMâconnais, which speaks volumes to thewine stylesmade as youmove south. The steep, Germanic slate rooves of Beaune become shallow-sloped terracotta tiles. The climatic rain and sun differential betweennorthern and southern Burgundy ismore understandablewhen looked through this prism. MediterraneanCyprus trees begin to pepper the hills, telling you all youneed to knowabout the climate. The Côte Chalonnais is named after the local port Chalon-sur-Saone, halfway down the Côte east of Givry (not to be confusedwith Gevrey!). The top third of this linear north- south region follows similar lines to the Côte D’Or, with a long south-east facing ridge. The maindifference is the altitude here – it’s higher and therefore thewines ‘leaner’ than further north in Santenay and Puligny. The village of Bouzeron in the north is a Burgundy oddity as a village specialising inAligoté. Criminally under-appreciated because of the poor name given it by quantity-driven producers, we love the Aligotés we take from Comte Armand and Felettig each year; as with, Clos Vougeot be choosey about the producer! FromMercurey onwards further south the limestone outcrops and hills dot the horizon. Mercurey is the region’s largest producer, 90% of which is red. Here the ‘négoce’ thrive and our friendNicolas Potel atMaisonRoche de Bellene produces wonderful Mercurey. Kept well, these age gracefully but canneed time, whileGivry to the east is approachable younger slightly younger – it’s further east and its hills are lower – as such the grapes ripenmore easily. You’ll

find good value and great drinking Pinot here.

Onwards South toMontagny, an appellation devoted toChardonnay. Care is neededwith the huge proportion of ‘1er Cru’ labels. In Montagny, anywine over 11.5% alcohol, can be called 1er Cru. In the current climate-changed world this is not difficult to achieve, therefore the appellation’s advocated quality level is somewhat out of date. Sufficient alcohol in the past indicated a level of suitable ripeness, now however finesse is required. Here again some inside knowledge on specific vineyards and producers is important. TheMâconnais is the classic southernwhite Burgundy area. The famous limestone outcrops of Vergisson (485m) and Solutré (494m) tower over the Pouilly-Fuissé regionwest of its lesser known siblings Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly- Vinzelles. The AC St-Véran applies to certain villages north and south of here and provide a high-quality level. Viré-Clessémakes up the region’s 5 ACs. The tier below is occupied by Villages rated high enough in quality to suffix the village name toMacon to createMâcon- Lugny orMâcon-Uchizy, for example. Another broader classification is winemade from across these villages, labelledMâcon-Villages. Dominated by Co-operatives which provide reasonably priced, benchmarkwines which tend to the generic. Just south ofMaconnais is Beaujolais: red wine country focussedwholly onGamay.

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WINE CATALOGUE