The Patron Saint Edit
France's Oldest Organic Vineyards
Introducing the Patron Saint Edit, a weekly curated offer on bottles we can’t stop thinking about, difficult to source cuvées, and unusual gems that belong in your cellar.
Once a year, we receive the wines of Julien Guillot, the current steward of Clos du Vignes du Maynes. According to his importer, Percy Selections, Vignes du Maynes is perhaps the oldest existing organically farmed vineyard in all of France, which is saying something considering its parcels date back to 910 A.D. and the Cluny monks who established them in what is now the Macon in southern Burgundy.
Building on his grandfather's vision of naturally farmed vineyards surrounded by wild tracts of forest, Guillot has forged a system of biodynamic farming in shepherding his old-vine Chardonnay, Aligoté, Gamay, and Pinot Noir, all grown from selection massale cuttings (non-clone vines derived from exceptional rootstock). He's ensconced himself so deeply into the historic records of the property that he was once inspired to reenact a medieval harvest, oxcarts and all.
The wines are a curiosity when considering the surrounding territory. Macon is a region marked by large production and commercial farming. Like considering a Shaker ladderback next to a stackable plastic Ikea stool, Clos du Vignes du Maynes feels extremely handmade and intimate in comparison with its context. Nothing is sulphured, fined, or filtered. Every wine I've tried is wildly expressive, leaping from the glass with a kind of unbridled enthusiasm. Truly, I giggled the first time I tried the Manganite last year, delighted by its freshness and depth, which inspired me to buy all I could get my hands on.