Mâconnais

The Mâconnais is the most southerly terroir in Bourgogne, a strip of vines about 10 km wide and 35 km long between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand, nestled between the Grosne valley to the west and the Saône to the east. Its hills extend over some 40 km from the Côte Chalonnaise to the Rock of Solutré. To the southwest of Tournus the Monts du Mâconnais are a succession of wooded hilltops and little valleys; further south the hills give way to monumental outcrops, including those of Vergisson and Solutré. The Bourgogne regional appellations are produced across the whole region, including Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté, Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant de Bourgogne. The Mâcon appellation was recognised by decree in 1937 and covers white, red or rosé wine from 91 communes; it may be followed by the mention Villages (white only) or by the name of one of 27 communes. In 2022 white Mâcon covered 148.16 ha and Mâcon-Villages 2,048.83 ha. The five Village appellations are all white Chardonnay. Pouilly-Fuissé, created on 11 September 1936, covers the communes of Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly, Vergisson and Chaintré. Pouilly-Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles were recognised by judgement from 1931 and by the legislator in 1940; Pouilly-Loché is produced in Loché and Pouilly-Vinzelles in Vinzelles and Loché. Saint-Véran, granted in 1971, forms a belt around Pouilly-Fuissé across seven communes: Chânes, Chasselas, Davayé, Leynes, Prissé, Saint-Vérand and Solutré-Pouilly. Viré-Clessé, created by a decree dated 26 February 1999, replaced the former white-wine appellations Mâcon-Clessé and Mâcon-Viré and covers Clessé, Laizé, Monbellet and Viré.

• About 10 km by 35 km between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand; the hills extend some 40 km from the Côte Chalonnaise to the Rock of Solutré
• Mâcon AOC: white, red or rosé from 91 communes, recognised by decree in 1937; Villages mention for white only; 27 communal denominations
• Village appellations: Pouilly-Fuissé (Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly, Vergisson, Chaintré), Pouilly-Loché (Loché), Pouilly-Vinzelles (Vinzelles, Loché), Saint-Véran (seven communes), Viré-Clessé (Clessé, Laizé, Monbellet, Viré)
• Areas in 2022: Pouilly-Fuissé 756.71 ha, Saint-Véran 735.38 ha, Viré-Clessé 456.22 ha, Pouilly-Vinzelles 59.72 ha, Pouilly-Loché 34.10 ha

The hills of the Mâconnais are separated by a series of parallel faults, giving them either a north/north-westerly or a south/south-easterly exposure. Limey or calcic brown rendzinas suit the long-keeping Chardonnay, while flinty sands and clays often mixed with calcium-rich rocks or sandstone pebbles favour the ready-to-drink Chardonnay. In Pouilly-Fuissé, the Bajocian escarpments of Solutré and Vergisson lie on a foundation of fossiliferous limestone identical to those found further north in the Côte d'Or and owe their dramatic profile to hard fossil corals that resisted erosion; the vines grow on the slopes and at the foot of the two hills on clay-limestone soils of Jurassic origin mixed with scree and, in one spot, schist, at altitudes of 200 to 300 metres. The summit of the Roche de Solutré reaches 493 m and the Roche de Vergisson 483 m. Most Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards are underpinned with limestone, though a few sites have a foundation of granite and schist, and further south the landscape gives way to the granite and schist of Beaujolais. Pouilly-Vinzelles overlies the same Bathonian and Bajocian limestones that form the upper slopes of the Monts du Mâconnais, on predominantly clay-limestone soils whose colour reflects their iron content. Saint-Véran is split into two islands by Pouilly-Fuissé: on the western side older Lias rocks are covered with grey marls, the gentle eastern slopes of Prissé and Davayé are marly limestones, and at Chânes and Prissé fossiliferous limestones are often overlain by clay-with-flints with chailles. Viré-Clessé occupies two hill-slopes running north-south, on Bajocian limestones and Oxfordian marly limestone, with clays containing sandstone pebbles known as chailles at the foot of the slopes and soils of white limestone pebbles known as cray, at 200 to 440 metres.

• Parallel faults shape the Mâconnais hills; rendzinas suit long-keeping Chardonnay, flinty sands and clays favour ready-to-drink Chardonnay
• Solutré and Vergisson: Bajocian fossiliferous limestone escarpments; Pouilly-Fuissé vines at 200 to 300 m on Jurassic clay-limestone; summits 493 m and 483 m
• Saint-Véran: grey marls over Lias rocks in the west, marly limestones in the east, clay-with-flints and chailles at Chânes and Prissé
• Viré-Clessé: Bajocian limestones and Oxfordian marly limestone, chailles and cray soils, 200 to 440 m

Pouilly-Loché benefits from the sunny autumns which go with the continental climate in these parts, and at Pouilly-Vinzelles the easterly exposure suits Chardonnay, which in this southerly/continental climate yields early harvests of rich and powerful juices. Pouilly-Fuissé is warm and damp compared to the rest of Burgundy, with up to 1,000 mm of rain per year, roughly 10% more precipitation and temperatures 10% higher, and a growing season warmer and wetter than in the Côte d'Or. Charles Curtis MW, writing in Decanter in 2021, judges that the warmth and limestone-rich soils deliver a rich, almost voluptuous Pouilly-Fuissé with aromas of ripe apple that can border on the tropical, a lush character accentuated in recent warm vintages. In Pouilly-Fuissé the Premier Cru slopes nearly all face east or south, and in very hot vintages sites at the top of the hill and those facing north or west may deliver a welcome freshness. Mâcon whites tend to be fresh and luscious as well as dry and well-fruited, with aromas suggesting broom, white roses, acacia, honeysuckle and citrus fruits. Viré-Clessé is a dry or demi-sec white wine, and some sectors of its delimited area favour overripe grapes harvested after the action of botrytis cinerea, known locally as levroûtés.

• Continental climate at Pouilly-Loché (sunny autumns) and Pouilly-Vinzelles (early harvests of rich and powerful juices)
• Pouilly-Fuissé climate: warm and damp, up to 1,000 mm per year, roughly 10% more precipitation and temperatures 10% higher than the rest of Burgundy
• Stylistic register: rich, almost voluptuous Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnay with ripe apple aromas that can border on the tropical, in the judgement of Charles Curtis MW; Pouilly-Vinzelles peaches, apricots and grapefruit evolving to almond, hazelnut, honey, quince and toast
• Viré-Clessé: dry or demi-sec whites; botrytis-affected grapes known locally as levroûtés

After a 10-year application process, INAO approved 22 Premier Cru climats that may be added to the Pouilly-Fuissé name from the 2020 vintage, making Pouilly-Fuissé the first appellation within the Mâconnais to have Premier Cru vineyards. The proposal was first initiated in 2007 by Frédéric-Marc Burrier, president of the Pouilly-Fuissé growers association, and a formal application was submitted to INAO in 2010; the work included a map of the appellation's 217 legally registered lieux-dits and analysis of altitude, aspect, slope and soils as well as the history, cultural practices and pricing of each climat. In 2022 Pouilly-Fuissé covered 756.71 ha, including 158.22 ha of Premier Cru. The 22 climats are Au Vignerais, Aux Bouthières, Aux Chailloux, Aux Quarts, En France, En Servy, La Frérie, La Maréchaude, Le Clos, Le Clos de Monsieur Noly, Le Clos de Solutré, Le Clos Reyssier, Les Brulés, Les Chevrières, Les Crays, Les Ménétrières, Les Perrières, Les Reisses, Les Vignes Blanches, Pouilly, Sur la Roche and Vers Cras. By commune (2021 figures), Solutré-Pouilly has eight climats and the largest Premier Cru surface, 71.7 ha; Fuissé is next at 51.3 ha; Vergisson has Les Crays, Sur la Roche and portions of En France and La Maréchaude; and Chaintré has four climats. Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché were granted their first Premier Cru climats as of the 2024 vintage: Les Longeays (7.5 ha), Le Pétaux (2.76 ha) and Les Quarts (12.45 ha) in Pouilly-Vinzelles, and Les Mûres (7.09 ha) in Pouilly-Loché. Their production rules include a ban on all herbicides, a first for Premier Cru climats in Burgundy, along with hand harvesting and total yields of no more than 58 hectolitres per ha. The current cahiers des charges of both appellations were homologated by arrêtés of 18 November 2024. Viré-Clessé includes no Premier Cru Climat.

• Pouilly-Fuissé: 22 Premier Cru climats from the 2020 vintage after a 10-year process, with a formal INAO application in 2010; classified since 21 November 2020
• Area: 158.22 ha of Premier Cru within 756.71 ha in 2022
• By commune (2021 figures): eight climats and 71.7 ha in Solutré-Pouilly, 51.3 ha in Fuissé, Les Crays and Sur la Roche in Vergisson, four climats in Chaintré
• Pouilly-Vinzelles (Les Longeays, Le Pétaux, Les Quarts) and Pouilly-Loché (Les Mûres): Premier Cru from the 2024 vintage; herbicide ban, hand harvest, 58 hl/ha maximum

Belgian-born Jean-Marie Guffens arrived in the Mâconnais in the 1970s and, with his wife, built the 5.7 ha Domaine Guffens-Heynen and the négociant business Verget. Domaine Barraud, founded in Vergisson in 1905, was among the first to bottle a domaine wine in the region, in 1947, from the future Premier Cru Les Crays, and had grown to 11 ha by 2021. Domaine JA Ferret, an 18 ha domaine founded in 1840, was directed for decades by women, notably Jeanne Ferret, who began to domaine-bottle her wine in the 1950s; by 2021 it was under proprietors Louis Jadot, with Audrey Braccini in charge of the winemaking and vineyards. The Vincent family has owned the Château-Fuissé domaine since 1862, and the Premier Cru Aux Quarts in Chaintré is commercialised as the Clos des Quarts by its proprietors Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin. Top growers from the Côte d'Or have expanded their holdings in the Mâconnais, including Domaine Leflaive and Domaine des Comtes Lafon; Leflaive owned or rented more than 18 ha in the Mâconnais in 2021.

• Domaine Guffens-Heynen (5.7 ha) and négociant Verget: built by Belgian-born Jean-Marie Guffens and his wife
• Domaine Barraud: founded in Vergisson in 1905; domaine bottling from 1947 with Les Crays; 11 ha
• Domaine JA Ferret: 18 ha, founded 1840, under proprietors Louis Jadot; Château-Fuissé owned by the Vincent family since 1862
• Côte d'Or growers expanding into the Mâconnais include Domaine Leflaive and Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Primary sources (BIVB and INAO): https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/the-maconnais/the-maconnais-the-southernmost-entry-point-to-the-bourgogne-region,2473,9317.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/macon,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MzMwJnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/macon-villages,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MzM1Jnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/pouilly-fuisse,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MzcxJnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/pouilly-loche,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MzczJnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/pouilly-vinzelles,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9Mzc2Jnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/saint-veran,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9Mzk1Jnw%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/vire-clesse,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9NDAyJnw%3D, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/pouilly-fuisse-premier-cru-16299, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/pouilly-loche-premier-cru-21394, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/pouilly-vinzelles-premier-cru-21390, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/saint-veran-16846, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/vire-clesse-14457, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/macon-blanc-24400. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/new-pouilly-fuisse-premier-crus-designations-444293/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/burgundy-gets-new-premier-cru-sites-in-the-maconnais-545960/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/pouilly-fuisse-regional-profile-plus-20-top-wines-462931/. Last verified 2026-10-05