Jean-Marie Guffens arrived in the Maconnais from Belgium in the late 1970s with no family history in wine and no particular deference to convention. What he brought instead was a clear-eyed conviction that the region's best terroirs were being wasted on the wrong ambitions. Starting from plots on the steep slopes of Pierreclos in 1979, his first vintage attracted critical attention. The reputation has only grown since.
The estate covers just under six hectares across Macon-Pierreclos, Saint-Veran and Pouilly-Fuisse, with soils ranging from clay-limestone to more calcareous and stony profiles. Farming is organic in practice. Fruit is harvested by hand across multiple passes through each plot, with only flawless berries making it to the press.
The 2024 vintage was the second consecutive year of very small yields, the result of a difficult growing season. Guffens has noted that the concentration in the wines is enormous. Each plot was picked on precisely the right day.
They are powerful, expansive and layered in ways that most Maconnais wines simply are not, and they reward patience. Andrew Jefford's observation from The New France still holds: before Guffens, no one knew that Macon-Pierreclos or Pouilly-Fuisse could rival Corton-Charlemagne or Batard-Montrachet. The 2024s are allocated and rare. Don't miss these.
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