MACON-AZÉ > BOUCHARD Ainé & Fils

MACON-AZÉ 2021

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2021 2022 2023 2024

Varietal

Gamay Noir, grape variety from southern Burgundy and Beaujolais.

Tasting notes

Colour: from cherry to dark ruby via deep garnet.

Nose: accents of small red and black fruits (gooseberry, bilberry) blended with notes of underbrush, mushroom, fruit-pit and animal.

Palate: fruity, rich, hearty, fleshy and easy to like. Both the wine's structure and texture are excellent.

Food and wine pairing

Drink with all delicatessen, charcuterie, grilled and roasted meats, burgers, tapas, wbut alos mixed summer salads and cheeses.

Serving suggestions

Serve ideally at around 15°C. (59°F.)

Ageing potential

Mâcon-Azé will be fresh and lively in its youth, and gain in smoothness after about two to three years.

Origins

Mâcon-Azé is a regional appellation from the Mâconnais wine-growing district (Saône-et-Loire) in southern Burgundy.

The name of the commune of origin, in this case AZÉ, may be added to the label after the name MÂCON, attesting that the wine is made from vines grown in the delimited area of the 20 producing and grouped communes.

The appellation is grown on 16 ha of red vines (74 ha of white vines).

- The soils are very stony, carbonated and shallow (east), but also clay-loam on a marl-limestone substrate (south and west).
- Gentle to steep slopes.
- Altitude between 250 and 440 m.

Vinification and maturing

The grapes are destemmed for maximum fruitiness. Maceration and fermentation take place in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature (30°C), with punching down of the cap twice a day during alcoholic fermentation and a few pump-overs to extract all the compounds from the grapes. Malolactic fermentation is carried out at 100% to soften the wine and reduce its acidity. In order to obtain fruity aromas, the wine is matured in vats for around 6 months.

Vintage : 2021

The 2021 vintage was a challenge for winegrowers right up until the very last day. From the frost in April, made worse by a very early start to the winegrowing season, right through to the September harvest, it was characterized by some brutal shifts in the weather. Winegrowers had to be extremely reactive and attentive. The only moment of respite came with flowering, which was ideal for fruit formation, and véraison, which was accompanied by sunshine from mid-August. In the end, hard work was rewarded with success, low volumes aside.

Aside from the low yields due to frost, and hail in June in certain parts of the Mâconnais, the grapes were sorted meticulously, both in the vines and in the winery.

Anyway, 2021 is an interesting vintage to work as it requires great technical skill and vinification must be very precise. Although fermentation was rapid, one had to pay a great deal of attention to the extraction of tannins and colour for the reds, and to the aromatic balance of the whites. The impression from the first tastings is that the musts have good aromatic potential and the sugar-acidity ratio suggests a style appreciated by fans of Bourgogne wines.