- A nice red colour with violet hints.
- Small little red fruits aromas to the nose : raspberry and gooseberry, evoking a red fruits coulis.
- A pleasant wine in the mouth offering fruity and spicy (cinnamon, pepper) flavours on a velvety structure.
Located between Cluny and Mâcon, in the South of Burgundy, the little village of Igé shelters an historical vineyard. The Romans where the first to grow the vines there followed then by the monks in the Middle Age who gave a tremendous impulsion and recognition to the Mâconnais wines.
Mâcon-Igé belongs to the regional appellation Mâcon from the Mâconnais vineyard , that spreads on 3,865 hectares at an altitude varying between 100 and 400 meters above the sea level on brown limestone or calcic soils ; both shallow and deep, clayey or sandy, often mixed with silex pebbles (called chailles).
“La Gripeaude” is made from Gamay grapes, from a vineyard planted on east-facing slopes with a marly sub-soil at an altitude of 300 metres. The vineyard is 2,64 hectares in size, and the harvest yield is 60 hl of wine per hectare.
Nature certainly set a challenge for the winegrower and the winemaker with this vintage.
It began with very warm temperatures at the end of February which led to an early bud break. The historic frost in April then destroyed young shoots that had emerged too early, significantly affecting the future harvest. Changing weather continued to characterize the vintage through to the harvests. There were spells of rain from May to mid-August, obliging winegrowers to be constantly on the alert.
The only periods of relative calm were during flowering, which took place in good conditions for the formation of the future fruit, and the “véraison” (colour change), which benefited from the return of the sun from mid-August. The vagaries of the weather contributed to the development of outbreaks of disease, which were contained thanks to the tireless efforts of our winegrowers. In spite of this, considerable sacrifices had to be made to ensure a high level of quality, and rigorous sorting of the fruit in the vineyard and on arrival at the winery was necessary.
This vintage also required a major technical effort. The vinification had to be carried out with meticulous attention and precision. We took particular care over the extraction of coloring matter, the balance of the structure and the aromatic expression of our red wines, and of the freshness, balance of acidity and aromatic potential of our white wines.
From the first tastings, this vintage presented excellent flavour and aroma potential, and the balance of acidity was contained. The wines are less sunny, revealing a more moderate character, lighter in terms of alcohol and in tannic structure. These are wines that will assert their personalities by offering a diverse palette of flavours and textures, like the growing season.