Mâcon-Igé
Château London 2020
A bottle of Mâcon contains a big smile from the south of Burgundy. It has a southern feel to it, as do the Roman tiles that top the flat roofs…
Origin
After a short interruption south of the Côte Chalonnaise, vineyards reappear around the town of Tournus. This region is a great producer of primarily white wines. One out of three bottles of white Burgundy comes from the Mâconnais!
Château London is not a brand name, but a vineyard whose name refers to the fact that its original owner lived in rue Landon in Paris. Over time, “Landon” became “London”.
Viticulture
Grape variety: chardonnay & muscat chardonnay
Soils: chalky white limestone
Orientation: South-West
Surface area under vine: 2.72 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 30 hL/ha
Average age of the vine: 37 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 2 September 2020.
The grapes were handpicked.
At the winery: the whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 8 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. A proportion of 30% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was bentonite fined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in June 2021.
Number of bottles: 9,966.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes. 'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: from 3 to 5 years.
Awards
Jancis Robinson MW - 15,5/20
Tasting notes
The color is light yellow. The intense nose will seduce you with its floral and citrus aromas associated with some brioche notes. A complex and explosive bouquet On the palate, this fresh wine is tender and very delicious!
