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Domaine René Michel is a mid-sized family winery in the Maconnais. As well as vines, Franck Michel keeps a herd of 300 head of Charolais and Aubrac cows, so life is always busy. They’ve got 21 hectares of vines with an average age of more than 50 years. The Chardonnay grapes for the Tradition cuvée are grown on about seven hectares on the middle of a hillside with south-easterly aspect. Soils are clay and limestone which makes a mineral fresh light style. Vinification using ambient yeast is intentionally slow lasting for about 12 months in tanks under controlled temperature with malolactic fermentation. Cuvées are aged from eight to over twenty months before bottling. Being in the Viré-Clessé AOC, only the driest of white wines are permitted (<3 g/l RS). And then, there are their special cuvées. Their older vines are marked as Vieilles Vignes, as one would expect. Some are aged in casks - these are called Futs de Chenes. The wine made from very ripe, partially dried grapes is called Levroutée, a local tradition. And then there is Quintaine, a special cuvée from one terroir which simply sings.
Domaine Michel 372 Route de Cray, 71260 Clessé, France |
Domaine Michel
Viré-Clessé "Quintaine" 2014, by Réné Michel, Burgundy
£22.80
£22.80
