Mâcon-Cruzille

The vineyards of Bourgogne produce some great wines with a historical and international reputation. However, the region is not simply limited to its iconic appellations. In addition to its Village Premier Cru and Grand Cru AOCs, it also produces a range of wonderful Régionale and Village appellations to explore.


You will also find a full list of the Bourgogne’s Climats and lieux-dits on this page.


Check out the complete list of the 84 Bourgogne appellations.

However, your exploration has only just begun. Bourgogne wines have never before offered such high quality. Besides our range of internationally celebrated wines, try some of our lesser-known appellations where there are lots of surprises in store.

And for a fun way to find out more about the wines on offer, try out our “Which Bourgogne wine is right for me?” quiz, or check out Bourgogne Maps to take an interactive tour of the region.

  • Category

    Regional Appellation

  • Wine-producing region

    VIGNOBLE DU MÂCONNAIS

  • Creation of the appellation

    31 juillet 1937

  • Colour

    White: Chardonnay
    Red and rosé: Gamay 

  • Area under vine:
    White: 31 hectares
    Red: 10 hectares
    Rosé: 0.4 hectares

    Note: Average over three years 2016-2018

     

  • An additional geographical denomination that is part of the Régionale Mâcon appellation in the Mâconnais. According to the 2005 specifications rules, the name Mâcon-Cruzille refers to white, red, and rosé wines grown within a defined area in the villages of Grevilly, Martailly-lès-Brançion, and part of Cruzille.

Wine Characteristics - Mâcon-Cruzille

Wine
Characteristics

Just like its surface area and topography, the white wines in the Mâcon-Cruzille AOC can be divided into two profiles.


One profile offers wines that are a lovely light-yellow gold color with hints of silver, vinified and aged in stainless steel, resulting in a nose offering the fruity range of the wines of the central Mâconnais, with orchard fruits like apple, quince, and peach. This is combined with springtime floral aromas like acacia, hawthorn, and honeysuckle. The attack is sincere without being acidic, full-bodied and fatty.


The other profile involves wines aged in oak and that are yellow-gold in color with empyreumatic and buttery aromas right from their youth, which evolve with age into something more complex with spicy fragrances of licorice and cinnamon, hints of tea, verbena, and thyme. In the mouth, they are fairly mineral, with chalk, gunflint, and sometimes iodine.


The reds are deep garnet in color with a juiciness on the nose and in the mouth, recalling aromas of fermenting must, blueberry and raspberry. This crispness is underscored with spicy notes of black pepper and nutmeg, and sometimes a touch of peat. With age, the wine recalls the Pinot Noir varietal, mainly when aged in oak barrels. It then expresses menthol and sometimes eucalyptus, always with an indulgent flavor structure.

Wine Steward’s Tip - Mâcon-Cruzille

Wine
Steward’s Tip

White: For a perfect flavor combination given the liveliness of this wine on the tongue, opt for an appetizer like a creamy leek tart or risotto verrine. Then allow its acidulated structure to cut through the parsley butter of razor fish à la plancha, gratinated oysters, or snails in garlic butter.
Serving temperatures: 10-11°C as an aperitif, 11-12°C with food


Red: Try serving this red slightly chilled at a chic brunch, with a traditional mâchon bourguignon selection of local cold cuts, cheeses, and fruit tarts. Its spicy nose and fleshy structure will perfectly suit a bacon-filled brioche from the Morvan with some salad from the garden. It will also make a great match with a summer-fruit salad of gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, and raspberries, served with sponge fingers.
Serving temperature: 12-14°C

Situation - Mâcon-Cruzille

Situation

To the north of the long Igé-Azé-Bissy-la-Mâconnaise valley, the Mâcon-Cruzille area continues along the hillsides of Mâcon-Lugny to the village of Royer, where Mâcon-Mancey begins. To the east, the appellation area also includes the eastern flank of the Lugny range, either side of the village of Grevilly.


Although the estate named Les Vignes du Maynes (or “monks”) reminds us of a strong Cluniac presence, Cruzille, its chateau and hamlets belonged to the County of Chalon and the Duke of Bourgogne from the 10th century onwards. Strengthening his suzerainty, the Duke acquired the old fortress of Brançion in 1259.

This feudal boundary between the Mâconnais and the Chalonnais coincided with a more perceptible northern Bourgogne architectural influence in this northern end of the Mâconnais. On the houses, steep gable roofs with flat tiles gradually replaced shallower-sloping roofs with curved “canal” or “Roman” tiles.

The landscape was increasingly given over to polyculture and the forests gained in size. The woods of Buis and Fà were key locations for Resistance fighters from 1942 to 1945. 

Terroirs - Mâcon-Cruzille

Terroirs

In this valley open to the south and north, the vines enjoy typical central Mâconnais weather, with around 860mm of rainfall and 1,800 hours of sunshine annually.


The vines grow either side of the Sagy valley on slopes facing the rising sun atbetween 290 and 370 meters above sea level to the Col de Brançion to the north (at 354 meters), looking down over the green fields of the valley of Le Grison. At the same height, the relief to the east offers alternating slopes facing the setting sun (Les Crays) and sloping ledges (La Belouse, Le Chanay) up to the edge of wooded crests.

To the west of Cruzille and Martailly, the vines thrive on a marl-limestone bedrock from the Middle Jurassic, dating back 167 million years, on shallow soil that is less than 50cm deep in parts, with marine fossils.

In parallel, the plateaus, with cooler soil more varied in depth, offer alternating layers of fine limestone and marl, varying in color from blue to salmon pink.

The slopes of Grevilly, which face the setting sun, contain Lias marls dating back 180 million years. These iron-rich soils with few fossils absorb the heat of the summer sun, particularly favorable for growing red varietals.

 

 

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