Wines

 A delightful sparkling wine built exclusively from Chardonnay (younger vines of 20 years of age) harvested from parcels in the village of Serrières on the border with Pierreclos.  The vineyards are west facing and are planted to sandy soils.  Only 6,000 bottles are produced annually.  Depending on vintage conditions, the malolactic fermentation is sometimes blocked in order to maintain the proper high level of acidity.  The dosage is minimal so as to produce a bone-dry, brightly effervescent cuvée.

This is the workhorse wine of the domaine both for the Thévenet family and for us.  The grapes for this cuvée are sourced from four separate parcels within Pierreclos: “Margots”, “Le Château”, “Les Grands Buys” and “La Bucherate”.  The average age of the vines is forty-five years.  The vineyards face east, southeast and south and are situated about 350 feet above sea level on the gently sloping hills of Pierreclos.  The wine is aged in cuve in contact with the fine lees but without any exposure to oak.  Total annual production is in the neighborhood of 15,000 bottles with a hefty majority dedicated to the US market.

From a half hectare parcel of young chardonnay vines in the lieu-dit, “La Montagne”. This is a relatively cool site so it is typically the last to be harvested by the Thévenets, resulting in a round, ripe wine that retains a fresh character. The chardonnay is a special clone that keeps yields naturally low, averaging 30 hl/ha. The fermentation takes place in barrique (none new) and after the malolactic the the wine is rasised on the lees in 15-hl vats.

This prestige cuvée is produced from the oldest vines in a five-hectare parcel exploited entirely as a “monopole”by the Thevenet family.  The average age of the south-facing Chardonnay vines located in Prissé are seventy years old.  This highly concentrated wine of limited production (about 12,000 bottles per year are produced) is aged in cuve (no oak aging).  It displays a powerful constitution with great density; it is marked also by notes of tilleul and jasmine in the bouquet and hints of pear in its flavor.

100% Gamay from a blend of several parcels of vines averaging 40 years of age within the Thévenet’s home village of Pierreclos. The wine is vinified and aged in stainless steel, resting on the fine lees for one year. It is a light, unpretentious, charming little wine, lithe and supple and eminently quaffable.

The pinot noir for this wine is found in the village of Bussières and is sourced from the lieu-dit Les Clos.  The vines are south-facing at 350 feet above sea level on gently sloping hills that are principally composed of clay.  The fruit tends to ripen early due to its excellent exposure.  Pigeage and remontage are practiced during fermentation.  This wine is marked by notes of black, ripe berries, often a touch “sauvage”.

Combining several parcels in Bussières with holdings in the north-facing Grandes Vignes vineyard in Milly, this steel-tank-raised effort is more exuberantly aromatic than our longstanding core-wine Macon-Pierreclos Blanc, due in part to the presence of the Chardonnay-Muscaté among the constituent holdings. It nonetheless maintains a core of classicism, with plump Maconnais orchard fruits given definition through a subtle clench of minerality and more-than-adequate acidity.