Wine Advisor
Guffens Heynen, Macon Pierreclos Juliette et les Vieilles de Chavigne 2023
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2023 Mâcon-Pierreclos Juliette et les Vieilles de Chavigne is the latest rendition of this singular cuvée, a sort of ne plus ultra bottling from his holdings in Le Chavigne, blending juice from a parcel of 20-year-old vines named "Juliette" (a former aviator, Guffens enumerates his various parcels in lieu-dit Chavigne using the phonetic alphabet) that was stunted in the 2003 heat wave with juice from old vines in neighboring parcels. Every rendition to date has been extraordinary, and the 2023 is no exception. While it was less aromatically put together than some of the other cuvées in the range when I tasted it, there was no mistaking its deep, exotic bouquet or its full-bodied, muscular and multidimensional palate. Long, dense and girdled by chalky dry extract, it's nipping at the heels of the Croux this year.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2023 Mâcon-Pierreclos Juliette et les Vieilles de Chavigne is even deeper and more muscular than the Tri de Chavigne, and more introverted too, unwinding in the glass with reductive aromas of peach, wheat toast, pear and toasted nuts. Full-bodied, dense and seamless, it's broad-shouldered and powerful, with a prodigious chassis of dry extract cloaked in layers of ripe fruit, girdled by racy acids and concluding with a long, penetrating finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2023 Mâcon-Pierreclos Juliette et Les Vieilles de Chavigne comes from vines planted in 2003 on one of the highest points of the hill, the fruit tending to reach maturity quicker than others. This has quite a floral bouquet—dandelion and peony—that marries nicely with the citrus fruit. The palate is well balanced, slightly viscous in texture, with a very Coche-like reduction on the finish. Fortunately, it's not Coche-like in secondary prices.
About the Producer
Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen is renowned as a Chardonnay master, who has played a crucial role in enhancing the reputation of Mâconnais wines. Through the success of his small Vergisson domain, this region has become a notable destination for wine lovers. In the 1970s, Jean-Marie and his wife Maine made the bold decision to leave their native Flanders. Within three years, they became the owners of several plots on the slopes of Pierreclos. Today, their vineyard spans 5.3 hectares across the hillsides of Pierreclos, Vergisson, and Davayé. The vines are treated with natural methods, without any chemicals, and grapes are hand-harvested only when they reach optimal maturity, sometimes in several stages. In the cellar, the grapes are gently pressed and left to ferment naturally with native yeast. The wine is then aged on the lees and never filtered. This simple, natural approach has earned Guffens-Heynen's wines a solid reputation for their purity, precision, generosity, tension, and minerality. They have become highly sought-after, but difficult to procure due to the low production quantities. Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen's colorful personality is well-known not only in the Mâconnais but also as the owner of Domaine des Tourettes in the Lubéron (since 1997) and Château Closiot in Sauternes (since 2017). Domaine Guffens-Heynen has established itself as the ultimate reference in the Mâconnais, and Jean-Marie's talents in the vineyard are universally acknowledged. His mastery of Chardonnay has given new life to this region. Highly respected by his peers, praised by critics, and fervently sought-after by wine enthusiasts, Jean-Marie's wines have long stood out for their quality.
