Maconnais
Maconnais region is located north of Beaujolais and south of Cote Chalonnaise.
Only quality villages are allowed by AC laws to label their wines with the village name and there are 43 of these quality villages. The terroir in most of this region is a lime stone base with an alkaline clay which means that chardonnay grapes thrive in this soil. The temperature is slightly warmer than Cote d�Or wich is another reason why chardonnay grapes do so well.
The region of Maconnais produces four grape varieties
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Blanc
- Pinot Noir
- Gamay
Chardonnay accounts for two thirds of the grapes grown in the Macon and the Macon produces three times as much chardonnay as the rest of Burgundy. The chardonnays here are less acidic than Chablis but lighter bodied than the chardonnays of Cote Beaune.
Pinot Blanc is grown in this region primarily for blending with chardonnay.
Pinot Noir is grown in Maconnais and sold under the name Bourgogne Rouge.
Gamay accounts for 25% of the grape production and is sold under the name Macon Rouge except for the in the southern portion of Maconnais where it is allowed by AC law to be labeled as Beaujolais. Macon Rouge wines are usually of poor quality since the grapes are grown in lime stone instead of the ideal granite soil found in Beaujolais.
The highest quality Chardonnays are grown in the south in the Pouilly-Fuisse districts. Pouilly and Fuisse are actually the names of two different villages but the names are lumped together as the two villages are considered twin villages. Vines which are planted on southern facing hills can ripen two weeks earlier than those planted on north facing hills, as a result the southern facing vines will produce a less full bodied wine than the northern facing vines. Quality and production styles will vary in Pouilly-Fuisse. The reason the quality varies is because the AC laws in this district are fairly unrestrictive and as a result low quality producers can make there wines here and take advantage of the districts well respected name. There are also no regulations regarding the usage of lees and the usage of oak and from time to time producers will add second crop berries to increase the acidity level which explains why the styles vary so much. The upside to the relaxed laws is that it allows wine producers to experiment with different techniques which is an opportunity producers in many other regions may not have.
Wines produced in the villages of St-Verand, Chasselas, Leynes, and Chanes are allowed to be labeled under the St-Veran appellation. The wines of St-Veran tend to be simple and lean.