2021 Mâcon-Vinzelles, Clos de Grand-Père, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

2021 Mâcon-Vinzelles, Clos de Grand-Père, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

Product: 20211528233
Prices start from £32.00 per bottle (75cl). Buying options
2021 Mâcon-Vinzelles, Clos de Grand-Père, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

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Available for delivery or collection. Pricing includes duty and VAT.

Description

This walled plot of a single hectare is a special vineyard for the Brets and was purchased by their grandfather. It is situated in the heart of the village, below their Pouilly-Vinzelles vineyard. There are deeper soils here.  This wine has a very good touch for a Macon; there is a creamy note and, whilst being pleasantly straightforward, the length of flavour is especially rewarding.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous88/100

The 2021 Mâcon-Vinzelles Le Clos de Grand-Père, which, as the name implies, was the parcel belonging to the Brets' maternal grandfather. It has a well-defined, slightly leesy bouquet with praline and orange zest elements. The palate is taut and fresh on the entry, with a light touch of pear and persimmon, perhaps needing a little more length right on the finish. Fine.

Drink 2023 - 2028

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (August 2023)

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Decanter92/100

The Clos de Grand-Père is done in a charming, fresh, somewhat lighter style. Mâcon-Vinzelles is downslope from Pouilly-Vinzelles in the direction of the Saône, and the clos contains fifty-year-old vines that the Bret Brothers inherited from their grandfather. The 2021 vintage has a lush aroma that ranges from ripe apple to quince and apricot. The texture is equally opulent, with balanced acidity and medium body. The grapes are pressed as whole clusters without crushing, and the juice is aged mostly in tank, with 10% of the wine aged in older oak casks.

Drink 2023 - 2033

Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (November 2022)

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About this WINE

Bret Bros.

Bret Bros.

Grandfather Bret bought this property in Vinzelles in 1947. In 2000 Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret took their vineyards out of the local co-operative and established their Domaine de la Soufrandière (see here for the wine selection from la Soufrandière) with 4 hectares of vines entirely in the appellation of Pouilly Vinzelles. They have also developed a negociant activity using the name Bret Brothers.

Previous experience between them includes stages at Ridge and Newton in California and Comte Lafon in Burgundy. Most of their vines are in a perfectly situated east facing slope of Vinzelles called Les Quarts, on Bajocian limestone with a high silica/quartz content.

The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2000, with biodynamic principles being progressively introduced. The grapes, both their own and those purchased, are picked in small containers, then whole bunch pressed in the tinailler (local Maconnais and Beaujolais word for cuverie) before descending by gravity to the barrel cellar. They are currently all taken out of barrel for bottling after 11 months.

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Mâcon

Mâcon

The city of Mâcon represents the capital of the Mâconnais district in the region of Burgundy, to which it lends its name. There are various appellations under the name Mâcon: the generic Mâcon AC, Mâcon Supérieur and the Mâcon-Villages, in ascending order of how much land each appellation entails.

The standard Mâcon AC controls around 53 hectares of vineyard, 70 percent of which is used to produce just white wine, primarily from the Chardonnay grape. Mâcon used to be recognised for its red wines, but in the last century Mâconnais whites have come to the forefront far more. This generic appellation represents a specific style of wine made across the Mâconnais district, rather than an appellation which would cover a select area or terroir.

The ‘Supérieur’ in Mâcon Supérieur refers not to an increase in quality but rather to the boost in alcohol content, a term which can be applied to either red or white wines.

Mâcon-Villages is a specific appellation which refers to white wines produced in certain areas of the Mâconnais region, and usually denotes an improvement in quality over the straightforward Mâcon AC wines.

Many of the small communes under the Mâcon classification opt to add their name to that of the appellation on their wines; notable examples include La Roche Vineuse, Uchizy and Lugny.

Wines from Mâcon tend to be uncomplicated affairs, simple but enjoyable, and the whites in particular are notable for their dry, light bodies and the presence of floral and nutty facets.

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Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.

Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.

Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.