Mâconnais
| Wine region | |
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Part of | Burgundy |
| Grapes produced | Chardonnay and some Aligoté; tiny amounts of Pinot Noir and Gamay |
| Wine produced | Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Vinzelles, Pouilly-Loché, Saint-Véran |
The Mâconnais district lies in the south of the Burgundy wine region in France, west of the River Saône. It takes its name from the town of Mâcon. It is best known as a source of good value white wines made from the Chardonnay grape; the wines from Pouilly-Fuissé are particularly sought-after. Almost all the wine made in the Mâconnais is white wine. Chardonnay is the main grape grown, in fact there is a village of that name in the far north of the region. A little Pinot Noir is made into red Mâcon but only for local consumption. Gamay is grown in the Beaujolais cru of Moulin-à-Vent which extends into the Mâconnais, but has little in common with the wines north of the border.
Geography
The geology is similar to that of the Côte d'Or, but the gentle relief means that that vines are mixed with other forms of farming in most of the area. In the south the land rises up to form Mont de Pouilly and other limestone hills, covered in the alkaline clay that best suits Chardonnay. The villages of Vergisson, Solutré-Pouilly, Fuissé and Chaintré shelter at their feet, and are home to the best wines of the region.
History
Mâcon was a major crossroads in Roman times, and grapes would have been brought by the Romans if they were not already cultivated by the Celts. Viticulture was further encouraged by local religious foundations; the province was dominated by the bishopric of Mâcon during the Dark Ages.
The region formed the border between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire from 843-1600 and grew rich on customs duties in that time. A secular Count of Mâcon is not recorded until after 850; from 926 the countship became hereditary. The last Count of Mâcon and of Vienne died in 1224 and the lands passed to his daughter, Alix de Bourgogne (Alice of Burgundy); when her husband died in 1239, she sold the Mâconnais to Louis IX of France. The 1435 Treaty of Arras saw Charles VII of France cede it to Philip, Duke of Burgundy, but in 1477 it reverted to France, upon the death of duke Charles the Bold. Emperor Charles V definitively recognized the Mâconnais as French at the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529.
After the fall of the Bastille in 1789, the mountain peasants of Mâconnais revolted. Many were executed by the urban militias of Mâcon, Cluny and Tournus after much brigandage.
Appellations
- Mâcon is the basic appellation
- Mâcon-Villages
- Mâcon-Charnay
- Mâcon-Prissé
- Pouilly-Fuissé with junior partners Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles.
- Mâcon-Viré and Mâcon-Clessé, but these two villages in the far north of the region have recently been awarded their own appellation of Viré-Clessé.
Another recent appellation is Saint-Véran, which covers most of the Chardonnay vineyards that used to make white Beaujolais, in the commune of Saint-Vérand. Saint-Véran and white Beaujolais may be regarded as southern extensions of the Mâconnais.
See also
- Côte Chalonnaise - the wine district to the north
- Arpitan language
References
Further reading
- Robinson, Jancis (2006). The Oxford Companion to Wine, third edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198609902.