A decade ago, Mâcon whites were no-personality, bargain-basement chardonnays, but this intense and lemony Viré-Clessé, made by superstar Burgundy winemaker Dominique Lafon, shows just how much the region's wines have changed. With its floral aromas and racy mineral, citrus and pear flavors, this rich, round wine has a balance, complexity and precision I rarely find in California examples of the world's most popular white.

The Mâconnais is a district in southern Burgundy. It's a wide valley with gentle hilly vineyards, picturesque villages, fields of Charolais cows and almost three times the acreage of chardonnay vines as the famous Côte d'Or, where Lafon manages his family estate (Domaine des Comte Lafon) in the village of Meursault.

In 1999, looking for less expensive terroir, he quietly began buying up acres of vines in the Mâconnais, bringing along his philosophy of biodynamic viticulture, low yields, hand-picking and gentle winemaking.

A key player in the region's revitalization, Lafon now makes more than a half-dozen Mâcons, including several single vineyard bottlings, at his Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon domaine in the village of Milly-Lamartine. The 2009 Viré-Clessé is the latest addition, produced from vineyards that Lafon began renting from Château de Viré two years ago. Unlike the Côte d'Or, the Mâconnais has no premier and grand cru vineyards -- at least not yet -- but Lafon and other ambitious producers here have identified some of its sweet spots.

I tasted this new cuvée at February's La Paulée de New York, a biannual Burgundy bash where 34 top producers were showing off some of their best wines. Lafon poured it alongside a couple of his famous rare Meursaults from 2008 that cost four times more. The 2009 vintage, Lafon told me, was the best ever for Mâcon. This wine shows it. Let me know what you think.

Elin McCoy is a wine and spirits columnist and author of "The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste."

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Post Now Preview