Domaine Les Vignes du Mayne, also known as Clos des Vignes du Maynes, embodies a rare and distinctive viticultural singularity in Burgundy.
The history of the Clos dates back to 910 AD, the founding year of the Abbey of Cluny. The Benedictine monks—the true "agronomic engineers" of the Middle Ages—identified this specific terroir for its exceptional potential. The estate’s very structure still bears the hallmarks of this heritage, with stone wall vestiges suggesting even earlier Roman occupation.
Unlike the vast majority of French vineyards, Clos des Vignes du Maynes boasts absolute soil integrity. Historical archives and the estate’s collective memory attest that these lands "have never known chemicals," thereby preserving a microbial life and soil structure that have remained intact since their origin.
The modern era of the domaine began in 1952 when Pierre and Jeanne Guillot purchased the property. As early as 1954, Pierre Guillot took a radical and foundational stand for the time: he refused the use of synthetic chemicals, herbicides, and insecticides, committing the estate to the path of organic farming long before the term was ever codified.
This philosophy was further structured and championed on a national level by his son, Alain Guillot. A major political figure in the organic movement, Alain presided over the FNAB (Fédération Nationale d’Agriculture Biologique) starting in 1995. His activism was instrumental in the official recognition of the AB label in France; it was his dedication that led to the signing of the standards and logo by the then-Minister of Agriculture, Philippe Vasseur.
The third generation, represented by Julien Guillot, joined the estate in 1998. He immediately introduced the first biodynamic preparations before officially converting the entire seven-hectare estate to this method in 2001, subsequently earning Demeter certification.
The Cruzille terroir presents a geological complexity that stands apart from the rest of the Mâconnais. Its primary distinction lies in the presence of pearlescent limestone slabs rich in manganese, an oligo-element that provides red wines—specifically Gamay—with a mineral "backbone" and a unique tannic structure.
The soils are remarkably shallow, with the bedrock often surfacing between 25 and 40 centimeters deep, forcing the vines to develop complex root systems. To preserve this genetic heritage, the domaine exclusively practices massal selection rather than cloning, ensuring the vineyard's biological diversity. Pruning is conducted via the Guyot Poussard method, which respects sap flow to mitigate trunk diseases.
Julien Guillot pursues a natural winemaking approach, seeking the purest expression of fruit without technological artifice.
• Fermentation: Occurs exclusively with indigenous yeasts.
• Purity: The wines undergo no fining, filtration, or chaptalization.
• Sulfur: Vinification is generally performed without added sulfur (SO2) or with minimal doses. Remarkably, Pierre Guillot was already vinifying without sulfur as far back as 1954.
The Signature Cuvées
The estate's wines are a direct reflection of these radical choices:
• Cuvée 910: A co-fermentation of Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. A tribute to medieval wines, it is fluid and low in alcohol (13%), recalling ancestral "field blend" (complantation) methods.
• Manganite: Produced from small-berried Gamay planted in 1953 on the famous manganese-rich soils. This cuvée offers a depth and ferrous minerality that transcends the traditional image of Gamay.
• Aragonite: A pure, crystalline Chardonnay from high-altitude vines on limestone bedrock, occasionally evoking the mineral tension found in the wines of the Jura.
• Auguste: A tribute to Pinot Fin, an ancient, low-yielding variety of Pinot Noir, offering a silky texture and great aromatic complexity.
