Sebastien Giroux is exactly the type of winemaker we love to work with. He farms a tiny 6-hectare estate in southern Burgundy’s Maconnais region essentially by himself. Some of his wines come in allocations with single-digit case quantities; his rooms for vinification, bottle stockage, labeling, and tasting, are all… the same room.
Yet his disciplined organic winemaking results in extraordinary wines – William Kelley describes them as “supple, pure and charming.” We sold off every last bottle in the store last month, and are delighted (and relieved) to have them back in stock. And one of our favorites this year is humble Macon-Fuissé “Vers Chanes” vineyard.
Sebastien took us to his vines here last spring – he explained that when the original lines of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation were drawn last century, the Vers Chanes plot had been forest. The since-cleared land, many think, 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.
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Giroux Macon-Fuissé “Vers Chanes” 2022
bottle price: $28
