It’s hard to find new Burgundy producers these days. Demand remains high, the wines continue to get better, and a series of tiny vintages has meant many vignerons simply don’t need any new customers. But last year we came across a gem in the Maconnais: Sebastien Giroux is a terrific young winemaker farming just six hectares of vines in and around Pouilly-Fuissé.
Giroux’s disciplined organic winemaking results in extraordinary wines – William Kelley describes them as “supple, pure and charming.” We bought his wines enthusiastically last year, but apparently not enthusiastically enough – every bottle in the store had been sold by the spring.
This year we hope we’re a bit better stocked, and are excited to release his newest wine: Macon-Fuissé “Vers Chanes” 2021. If there’s a better $25 white Burgundy out there, we have yet to find it.
Sebastien took us to visit his Vers Chanes vines this spring – he explained that when the original Pouilly-Fuissé lines were drawn last century, the Vers Chanes plot had been forest. The since-cleared land, he believes, would rank today as Pouilly-Fuissé if the lines were redrawn. Lucky for us – today it remains a Macon-Fuissé, an overperforming terroir with a less famous name.
The wine itself is exquisite – unoaked Chardonnay with precise, linear focus. The nose calls to mind the golden lushness of Pouilly-Fuissé, but without the oak to obscure the gorgeous fruit. The mouth is lithe and precise, with chiseled minerality beneath the apple blossom and apricot notes.
Sub-$30 white Burgundy is on its way to becoming a thing of the past. Giroux’s Macon-Fuissé is proof the genre remains.
____________________________
Giroux Macon-Fuissé “Vers Chanes” 2021
bottle price: $25
