After studying a year in France in 1976, Maine and Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen never returned to their native Flanders. Enchanted by the Burgundy vineyard and the land of Vergisson so dear to Lamartine, they cast aside their artistic impulses for the viticulture school of Mâcon. An internship with a producer and here they are now, three years later, at the head of a small vineyard in Pierreclos. Domaine Guffens-Heynen was born. In 1990, the couple decided to expand their activities and create the Verget trading house in Sologny. Breaking with the Burgundian traditions, they would be the first to buy white grapes from the best domaines of Mâconnais, Côte d'Or and Chablisien. The wines are then vinified, aged and then marketed under their own name; excluding trading, the Domaine Guffens also produces Mâcon-Pierreclos, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé, and since 1997, VDP of the Vaucluse of the Domaine des Tourettes. Against all odds, these "philistines" mastered the art of Chardonnay, respected by all (including the greatest of the Côte de Beaune), praised by critics, sought after by connoisseurs. The wines from the Mâconnais and the Luberon have acquired a solid reputation; cuvées polished like diamonds, always very pure, and both rich and tense.

Jean-Marie Guffens's terroirs are represented in the form of two or three different Pouilly-Fuissé and Mâcon-Pierreclos wines. This is the "1er Jus" cuvée; that is, the juice from the first pressing. Echoing a process sometimes used in Champagne, the most concentrated juices are extracted from the middle of the pressing. At the very beginning, they are slightly less intense. This unusual distinction makes a superb introduction to the wines in this range. With its superbly integrated woodiness, the wine is dense and powerful, with masterful balance. This is a Mâcon capable of holding its own against the greatest white wines of Beaune.