The Mâconnais was our destination for Friday and specifically a focus on some of the best known wines of the region such as Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé. First stop was in the little village of Davayé – home to Domaine Corsin. We experienced their wines at RWS/TWS tastings last year so I was keen to visit. We were hosted by Marine Coste and Gilles Corsin who took us round the winery where we discussed the nuances of fermenting multiple different small plots of vines, the use of natural yeast and heard about the terrible problems in 2021 where frost and hail decimated not just this region but a significant percentage of all of France’s vineyards. The Corsin family is now on the fifth generation as winemakers and were one of the first in the region to bottle their wines with an estate label. Despite the fact that many of us have seen many stainless steel tanks, there were new things to learn and there was a great chemistry between Marine and Gilles.
We finished up in their cavernous tasting room which is used for many local events. The tasting was tightly focussed on their unoaked St Veran Précoce vs two different vintages of their oaked Saint-Véran Vieilles Vignes which eminently demonstrated the difference between the cooler 2017 and warmer 2018. We moved on to their seriously high quality Pouilly-Fuissés. Old vines followed by their Aux Chailloux which will be Premier Cru from the 2020 vintage onwards. The tasting culminated with a Magnum of 2013 Aux Chailloux which was absolutely ready to drink and showed how important it is not to write off supposedly poor vintages. This was a great visit with some utterly delicious wines.
From Corsin it was a mere five minute drive to Domaine Nadine Ferrand. Marine Ferrand now runs the estate with her mother still close at hand and we had already noticed that their wines had a strong presence in local restaurants. After a quick tour around her very modern winery we started to taste the range accompanied by some rather delicious artisanal charcuterie and canapes. All the wines were great – Saint-Véran, Cremant de Bourgogne, Mâcon Village, Viré-Clessé and of course Pouilly-Fuissé. A very relaxed visit, light lunch and friendly black Labrador – what more could you want?
We decided to fit in one final visit to Domaine Luquet in Pouilly-Fuissé village itself. Christine Luquet hosted our visit and no prisoners were taken! This was a very lively visit with Madame Luquet holding court with great humour, wit and charm as she led us through the tasting but also demystified the terminology and increased our understanding of the AOC system, land ownership and the family history – a great finish to the day.
