Found in Cruzille in the Mâconnais, Clos des Vignes du Maynes is now in the hands of Julien Guillot. This is a particularly old, Burgundy domain that dates back to the 10th century, more specifically to the time when Cluny Abbey was founded by the Duke of Aquitaine. The domain then belonged to many generations of country people until it was bought by Pierre and Jeanna Guillot in 1952. They have never used chemicals, always working as naturally as possible. After passing the torch on to their son Alain, who has played an important role in the promotion of organics in France, his son Julien who joined the domain in 1998 represents the third generation of the family to work at the domain. The vineyard spans 7 hectares planted with Pinot Noir, Gamay and Chardonnay. The harvests are carried out by hand with careful selection. In the winery, everything is done naturally with very little intervention: fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts, and no sulphur or additives are used. The red wines undergo semi-carbonic maceration with a mini-punching over and light stirring. They are matured in barrels and there is no filtering at the end. Julien Guillot wishes to make ‘sharing wines' and he succeeds wonderfully with his high-quality and uncommonly elegant cuvées

Le Clos des Vignes du Mayne. Now here’s a name in the Mâcon appellation that’s getting a lot of attention. It has to be said that this estate inherited an age-old vine-growing tradition dating back to the 10th century. Today, it’s run by Julien Guillot who presents us with an Aligoté cuvée with an appealing name. The grape variety is cultivated meticulously, according to organic principles, and is thus encouraged to draw the nutrients it requires to thrive from the white clay soil. Yields are limited to 50 hectolitres per hectare to enhance the wine’s character. The grapes are hand-picked and sorted in the rows and then on tables. Alcoholic fermentation is conducted at low temperature, in vats, to preserve the natural freshness of the grapes. The wine then matures for ten months on the lees (dead yeast) to gain in complexity and texture.
In the glass, the white wine is tinged with green hues, revealing notes of citrus fruit, white fruit and an invigorating minerality.