Domaine Thierry Drouin is located in the Côte Mâconnais region. Taking its name from the city of Mâcon, the region is near the most southern tip of Burgundy, and is almost entirely dedicated to the production of Chardonnay. It has been hailed by noted wine writer Jancis Robinson, OBE, MW (columnist to the Financial Times, editor of the Oxford Companion to Wine and co-author of the World Atlas of Wine) as offering some of the best white wine values in the world.

In the United States, this region is probably most famous for being the home of Pouilly Fuissé. But the Côte Mâconnais is more than Pouilly Fuissé. Within this region is the tiny appellation of Mâcon-Vergisson. Wines from Mâcon-Vergisson are known for being dry and fruity, rich and well balanced with good acidity and mineral notes. These are food friendly wines that pair beautifully with chicken, fish and shellfish. Choose the right producer, and the wines from Mâcon-Vergisson offer excellent quality for the price. Think of them as a wonderful, affordable alternative to the more expensive Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet wines produced in the north.

The small, artisanal winery of Domaine Corrine & Thierry Drouin is one of those producers who gets it right. Established in 1984, the Domaine covers 9 hectares (a little over 22 acres). Truly a family-run operation, Thierry Drouin traces his history as a winemaker back through his father and grandfather. Today, with his wife Corinne, he uses the same methods that he learned under their tutelage. He is also a long time believer in certain aspects of “biodynamic” wine production; no insecticides are used to treat the vines, for instance, and herbicides are used only when necessary.

Thierry and Corinne Drouin’s commitment to quality is reflected in the care given to the fruit at each step of the process, from the cultivation of the grapes, to their harvesting, to their vinification. To allow a high concentration of flavors in the fruit, the vines are pruned to leave only 8 to 10 buds on a cane, and in the spring, excess grapes are removed. Manual leaf removal in the summer gives the grapes optimal sun exposure and promotes ripening (the main leaves are untouched and fewer leaves are removed during particularly hot or dry summers to ensure that the grapes are not burned). In the fall, the grapes are harvested and sorted by hand.

In the cellars, Thierry Drouin uses very little new oak. Most of the barrels are between 1 and 5 years old. This ensures that the wines are not the over-oaked and under-fruited one-trick ponies that have turned off so many people to Chardonnay. As the wines are aged in barrels, the lees (the sediment that occurs during fermentation and aging from disintegrating yeast cells) are stirred once or twice a week, depending upon the vintage. This gives the wines complexity and body, both in their aromas and their “mouthfeel.”

The end results are wines that allow the natural characteristics of the Chardonnay grape and the terroir – that unique combination of the climate, soil and topography – to shine through.

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