Domaine des Chenevières Mâcon-Villages Mont Pelé 2023

Domaine les Chenevières was established in the 1850s and has been handed down from father to son through six generations of the Lenoir family of winemaker-growers. Currently run by Benoit Lenoir, the 45-hectare estate is situated in the Saint Maurice de Satonnay, eight miles north of Mâcon, where he has established a reputation for producing high quality Mâcon-Villages. The estate is farmed sustainably, with biodiversity in the vineyard being encouraged and minimal treatments employed. Yields are controlled to obtain the richest grapes possible. Benoit aims for a balanced approach of combining tradition with contemporary winemaking methods, vinifying plot by plot to produce wines with a bright floral and fruit-forward expression and excellent Mâcon typicity.

The Mâcon-Villages appellation covers white wines produced in selected communes of the Mâconnais wine area in southern Burgundy. The landscape of the Mâconnais is one of rolling limestone hills, bordered in the east by the Saône River. The Mont Pele vineyard is south-easterly facing vineyard on a very dry, acidic limestone soil with some clay, which produces a light, fresh and approachable style of Macon-Villages, with the clay component providing good water retention properties, to nourish the vines during the warm summers. The 35-year old vines are pruned according to the Guyot Arcure method, an arched style of pruning, which allows for a better circulation of the sap. Where possible the soils are worked by hand, to reduce the need for synthetic preparations.

Following a gentle pressing, the juice was left to settle with enzymes to clarify the must. Selected yeasts were added and fermentation took place at controlled temperatures of 18 to 20°C, in stainless steel tanks lasting for three weeks. The wine was then racked and left on its fine lees to impart texture and complexity, until bottling.