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

We’re heading for the Mâconnais region to rediscover one of the most interesting estates in the world, with viticultural traditions dating back to the early 10th century. Heading up the estate is Julien Guillot, who has made biodynamic viticulture his trademark, unsurprisingly banning chemicals, weedkillers, insecticides and sulphur. The same applies in the winery, where Pearl & Button, this skin-contact white wine produced from Chardonnay, is made. The vinification process is low-interventionist, involving a ten-day maceration of the noble grape variety, fermentation triggered by native yeasts, light filtering that does not alter the wine, three years’ ageing in foudres (large capacity wooden tuns) and a dose of sulphur added for homeopathic purposes only.
This resolutely fruit-driven wine offers a surprising experience combining hints of sweet spices, white fruit, quince and citrus zest. The wine’s slightly tannic texture makes it a perfect match for meat or fish in sauce.