At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Mâconnais, South Burgundy
- Village
- La Roche-Vineuse
- Vineyard area
- 38 hectares
- Main grapes
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay
- Signature wine
- Mâcon-Villages
The Producer
Jean-Christophe Perraud leads Domaine Jean-Christophe Perraud with a team of six in La Roche-Vineuse. The domaine is known for Chardonnay focused wines, alongside red wines made from Pinot Noir and Gamay. Its range covers several Mâconnais appellations and Bourgogne Aligoté.
The cellar favours natural yeasts, temperature controlled stainless steel and ageing on fine lees. The wines combine fresh and round textures with fruity and sometimes floral notes.
Place
La Roche-Vineuse is the home village of Domaine Jean-Christophe Perraud, in the Mâconnais region of South Burgundy. The domaine's white range includes Mâcon-Villages, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé, while Bourgogne Aligoté and red wines from Pinot Noir and Gamay extend the range beyond Chardonnay.
Story
Jean-Christophe Perraud took control of the domaine from his father, Jean-Maurice, in 2005 as the fourth-generation winemaker. The farming then changed in stages. The domaine began experimental organic trials in 2016 and launched its official organic conversion in 2021. From vintage 2024, the vast majority of its vineyards are certified organic.
Vineyards And Cellar
The Mâcon-Villages vineyards are planted on a mix of limestone, clay, loam and flint. In the cellar, the wine receives gentle pneumatic pressing before a slow fermentation with natural yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel vats.
Mâcon-Villages spends 10 months on fine lees with minimal intervention, followed by light filtration and a small amount of sulfite before bottling. Fine lees are spent yeast cells, and ageing on them can add a rounder texture without oak flavour.
Wines
The white range is Chardonnay focused, with Mâcon-Villages, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé joined by Bourgogne Aligoté. The red wines come from Pinot Noir and Gamay, giving the domaine a separate red branch alongside its white appellations.
In The Glass
Across the range, the wines balance freshness and roundness, with fruity and sometimes floral notes and a silky texture on the palate. Mâcon-Villages brings generous notes of honey, quince and oven baked apples, balanced by fresh citrus and a lingering finish.
Saint-Véran shows apricot and citrus fruit aromas with a smooth, round palate and classic white Burgundian minerality. It can also show white peach, white flowers, lemongrass and rocky mineral, with a refreshing, vivacious character.
A Bottle To Understand It
Mâcon-Villages is the first bottle to open. It is a Chardonnay focused white from vineyards planted on limestone, clay, loam and flint. The bottle places the domaine's main white grape and its varied ground in one appellation wine before the range moves into Saint-Véran, Pouilly-Fuissé, Bourgogne Aligoté and the Pinot Noir and Gamay reds.
Anecdote
In 2008, Jean-Christophe Perraud decided to start bottling the wines under the family name. Before that change, the family sold grapes to the cooperative. The decision moved the business from cooperative grape sales to bottles carrying the Perraud family name. The domaine's independent bottling began in 2008.
Final Word
Domaine Jean-Christophe Perraud uses homeopathic vineyard treatments made from horsetails and nettles.
Sources
- domaineperraud.fr/en/welcome
- domaineperraud.fr/en/our-domain
- grandsbourgognes.com/en/wine-estates/bourgogne/domaine-perraud-1290
- www.infinivin.com/en/domaines/domaine-perraud-96
- domaineperraud.fr/en/produit/macon-villages-2
- www.reservewines.co.uk/products/domaineperraudsaintveran2022
- tablewineasheville.com/products/domaine-perraud-saint-veran