Wine: For value and flavour, search out underrated white Burgundy

Published on Sunday 14 March 2010 10:31

Want an inexpensive white Burgundy? The first place to look is amidst the hilly rural pastureland of Maconnais. Hidden among fields devoted to Charolais cattle and mixed farmland, there are some very exciting wine villages – some of which have only recently been realising their potential.

Vineyards in Maconnais, between Tournus and Macon, west of the river Saone, are very spread out. So, they are difficult to hunt down. There is hidden limestone, the best soil for chardonnay, so it is possible to get amazing quality at a much better price than anything you would find in Cte de Beaune. It is warmer here than in the Cte de Beaune, too, so unoaked chardonnays have fatter fleshier fruits and less minerality on the palate, than you would get in Puligny Montrachet further north.

The appellation system pyramid starts at the bottom with simple Macon, but to be honest, quality really only begins with "Macon Villages". Forty three different villages are allowed to append their name with a hyphen after Macon (so you see Macon-Lugny, Macon-Verze, Macon-Uchizy) or just call themselves Macon-Villages.

Forty three villages are a lot to remember, so just concentrate on the best. Two I would highly recommend are Milly-Lamartine and Verze, both near (and sharing similar soils to) the famous Pouilly Fuisse appellation.

In the last decade some very serious winemakers such as Dominique Lafon and Anne-Claude Leflaive from the Cte de Beaune have invested in these Macon villages. Another name to watch is Christophe Cordier, based near Pouilly Fuisse, who has been hunting down vines in the best Macon villages and makes fabulous wines (some available through Majestic Wine).

All the villages actually aspire to get their own appellation. Two of Macon's best villages in the heart of the region, Vire and Clesse, managed that in 1999. So snap up these exciting chardonnays before they become better known.

See www.rosemurraybrown.com for leading Languedoc, Lebanon, Israel, Friuli and Slovenia tastings.

TASTE TEST:

The best wines in the village

8.95

The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com

Macon Villages 2008 Domaine Talmard

This beautifully made unoaked chardonnay ticks every box. Exceptional value.

17.99

Corney & Barrow Scotland, 01875 321921

Macon-Verze 2007 Domaine Leflaive

Magical blending of six different parcels to create a fruity, zesty, superb chardonnay.

16.50

Berry Bros & Rudd, www.bbr.com

Macon Milly-Lamartine 2008 Le Heritiers du Comte Lafon

This is ripe, intense and leesy with fantastic length.

&#149 This article was first published in The Scotsman, Saturday March 13, 2010