The Who: Sylvaine and Alain Normand
The What: 100% Chardonnay
The Where: La Roche-Vineuse, Macon, Burgundy, France
Tastes Like: Brioche and warming spices give way to cooked pears and tropical fruits. Full bodied with nice minerality in the finish, making a very food-friendly full bodied white.
Pairs With: Panzotti; Conchiglie with Pork Sugo; Lecco Pizza
Who:
Sylvaine and Alain NORMAND lend all their enthusiasm to creating the best white and red wines of the Mâconnais at La Roche Vineuse: Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint Véran, Mâcon La Roche Vineuse and Bourgogne. The estate is situated at La Roche Vineuse, a Mâconnais village nestled between the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson, the home of exceptional Terroirs which have, for generations, given rise to the most prestigious wines of southern Bourgogne. In 2010, the estate grew considerably, from 13 to 32 hectares of vines, distributed across the villages of Solutré, Chaintré, Prissé and La Roche Vineuse.
Sylvaine and Alain Normand grow their vines with respect for their natural environment. The winegrowers control the production of grapes, respect the Terroir and produce the wine as naturally as possible on its lees. The vintages are matured in vats for balanced or fruity wines, or in barrels for complex wines for laying down. They are fairly unique in Burgundy, in that they use no artificial fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. They say that they “don't want to dominate nature, we accompany it to make it grow and to bring out the best from it!”
The Wine:
This comes from roughly 13.5 acres and is made in a distinctly artisan style with native yeast in vat and an extensive upbringing on its fine lees (that spicy zesty quality in the finish of the wine comes from this lees contact). The bottling is usually in the summer following the harvest, but can easily wait until the autumn if the wine isn’t ready. Production averages 2,500-3,000 cases in normal years.
Where:
The Mâconnais is the soul of southern Bourgogne, celebrated by its native son, the poet Lamartine. It extends over some 40 km of the Côte Chalonnaise as far as the Rock of Solutré. Lying between the rivers Saône and Grosne, its valleys and hillsides seem to make the vines welcome. Indeed, vines have been grown here since Gallo-Roman times. The town of Mâcon has strong links with the wine industry. The surrounding villages have a smiling and good-natured appearance, reminiscent of water-colour paintings, with their galleried houses and Romanesque church towers. The wines of the M CON appellation (which dates from 1937), whether red, white, or rosé may also label themselves with the name Mâcon plus the name of their commune of origin.
Separated by a serie of parallel faults, the hills of the Mâconnais are linked along axes which give them either a North/North-westerly or a South/South-easterly exposure. The vines readily take to these hillsides. Limey or calcic brown rendzinas suit the Pinot Noir grape and long-keeping Chardonnays. Elsewhere, flinty sands and clays, often mixed with “chailles” or sandstone pebbles favour the earlier-drunk Chardonnay or (in reds) the Gamay, which is equally at home on granitic soils which point up the nearby presence of the Beaujolais
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