Guffens Heynen, Macon AOC, Pierreclos

About Guffens Heynen

M connais producer Domaine Guffens-Heynen. An internship with a producer and here they are now, three years later, at the head of a small vineyard in Pierreclos. Domaine Guffens-Heynen was born. In 1990, the couple decided to expand their activities and create the Verget trading house in Sologny. Breaking with the Burgundian traditions, they would be the first to buy white grapes from the best domaines of M connais, C te d'Or, and Chablisien. The wines are then vinified, aged, and then marketed under their own name; excluding trading, the Domaine Guffens also produces M con-Pierreclos, Saint-V ran, and Pouilly-Fuiss , and since 1997, VDP of the Vaucluse of the Domaine des Tourettes. Against all odds, these 'philistines' mastered the art of Chardonnay, respected by all (including the greatest of the C te de Beaune), praised by critics, sought after by connoisseurs. The wines from the M connais and the Luberon have acquired a solid reputation; cuv es polished like diamonds, always very pure, and both rich and tense. In the winery, Guffens favourite toy is a small hydraulic Champagne press made by Coquard in 1930, which he had rebuilt by hand in time for the 2001 harvest. This tool gives him the flexibility of being able to press multiple tiny batches of grapes each day, rather than having to wait longer to fill a larger press. While he can press extremely gently overnight, he can also drain off the free-run juice and capture 85% of the volume of the grapes in half an hour.