Maurice Martin, Mâcon-Villages Cheap

Maurice Martin, Mâcon-Villages

Many of my sommelier contemporaries attribute their Mâconnais “awakening” to Dominique Lafon, the Meursault superstar who established a domaine in the village of Milly-Lamartine in the late-1990s. Before him was Belgian expat Jean-Marie Guffens, armed with an irreverent attitude and a passion for biodynamic viticulture, who produced the seminal Mâcon-Pierreclos “Chavigne.” Although much credit is owed to these talented outsiders, there was a homegrown movement afoot in Southern Burgundy dating much further back. Today’s humbly priced yet extremely ambitious cuvée is an homage to the true trailblazers of the Mâconnais—the first-generation growers who converted this long-overlooked region into a bastion of serious, site-specific Chardonnays combining density, steely minerality, and aromatic complexity.

One such trailblazer was Maurice Martin, who in 1969 founded what is known today as Domaine de la Croix-Senaillet. It is situated in the village of Davayé, within the Saint-Veran appellation, and borders neighboring Fuissé, Vergisson, and Solutré-Pouilly—all towns which enjoy newfound cachet among devoted Burgundy drinkers. Today’s wine carries the unpretentious Mâcon-Villages appellation and a bargain price tag, but I defy even the most seasoned Burgundy lover to taste this blind and not think it was from some “fancier” appellation in the Côte de Beaune. Like Lafon, Martin demonstrates that the terroir of Mâcon has always been great—you just need to know where to look!

For decades, a handful of big négociants (merchant-bottlers), most of them based outside the Mâconnais, scooped up the lion’s share of the grapes to make huge quantities of bargain-priced wines of marginal quality. Through the ’70s and ’80s, the Chardonnay-crazed American market absorbed a staggering 70% of this wine. They lacked the name recognition of Chablis or the pedigree of the Côte de Beaune whites, but if you wanted a decent Chardonnay touched by the wand of Burgundy, Mâcon wines of this era fit the niche. Fruity and more generous by design, they were considered less “serious” than the often-stoic white wines of northern Burgundy. Today’s 2019 lands a knockout punch to that once damaging reputation, delivering an organically grown, terroir-driven wine of authentic Burgundian character and priced to enjoy every day.

During the early years, most all the grapes were sold off, but in 1974, Martin began to hold back his highest-quality parcels for his own newly formed winery. Today’s label is the exact replica of the one Martin originally used when he began bottling his own wine. It was the dawning of a quality-driven goal, transforming this grower’s identity from anonymous négociant supplier to high-grade vigneron. Since 1992, the estate has been guided by Maurice’s two sons, Richard and Stéphane, who pride themselves on creating wines with soul and purity. What began with 6.5 hectares has grown to 28 hectares spread over 60 individual parcels averaging 40 years old, nearly all surrounding their modern winery built in 1999 and expanded in 2008. They have operated as fully certified, organic growers since 2006. 

Most of Domaine de la Croix Senaillet’s holdings sit in the southern cradle of the Mâconnais, which shares geographic origins with the Côte d’Or, and benefits from similarly complex limestone-clay soils—with a range of rocks, marl, sandstone, granite and schist thrown into the mix. Most of their sites are planted within an area between the villages of Vergisson, Solutré-Pouilly (aka “the Rocks”) and Davayé, their home village. Within this series of limestone-rich outcroppings, many of them featuring very shallow topsoil over rock, the domaine’s vineyards also offer a wider range of exposures than are found in the appellations of Côte de Beaune. The commanding view of Solutré Rock is in plain sight from the winery’s front door. Today’s wine comes from two high-performing sites from different cru villages. The “Pierreclos” parcel, planted in sandy limestone heavily studded with clay, enables the wine’s richness. The “Chaintré” parcel (from the prestigious Pouilly-Fuissé appellation) is rooted in sandy schist-granite soil, providing a mineral-laden backbone to support the wine’s pronounced fruit component.        

For this ’19, the organically grown grapes were hand-harvested, carefully sorted, then naturally fermented and matured in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats. The wine remains on the fine lees (yeast sediment) for nine months to gain texture and richness, then bottled after a gentle filtration. To the eye, the wine’s hue is pale yellow to white gold with greenish reflections on a smooth, shiny medium body. Aromas of honeysuckle, apple blossom, and dusty herbs jump forward with hovering hints of acacia and lemongrass. The silky palate broadens nicely, supported by flavors of citrus, ripe green apple, fresh melon, and lees. The wine finishes with sneaky balance and tension generated by its perfectly framed acidity. Richard and Stéphane Martin are amongst the growing percentage of the Mâconnais’s smaller producers favoring quality over quantity. Armed with organic viticulture, lower yields, and natural winemaking, they are exploiting less-sun drenched sites—picking earlier and with greater precision. Simply put, the wines are more vibrant and meaningful than ever. There’s a new “must-see” show happening in the Mâconnais. With ticket prices this low, grab a few front row seats!