This wine is produced by one of my favourite négociants or wine merchants - Louis Jadot. It was fruity with a taste of cherries and red fruits but it had a slightly rustic edge. All the same, half a bottle went down quite well with some roast chicken one evening and some roast duck the next. It went better with the duck which was stronger tasting and had more body than the chicken. The slightly rustic flavour of the wine reflects the assumption that the Gamay grape, which is also used to make Beaujolais further to the south in the Burgundy region, does not suit the limestone soils in the Mâconnais area. The Mâcon rouge is made primarily from the Gamay grape rather from the Pinot Noir of its Burgundian cousins further north in the region. This wine was not of the same class as a Beaujolais or a Cote D'Or but it is good value for money when paired with duck or goose.
The Mâconnais is more renowned for its white wine production and I particularly like Poully- Fuissé and St Veran which are both chardonnay based wines more suited to the limestone soils of the area; there are no rustic undertones with the white. They are also excellent value for money. The Mâconnais produces more white wine than the rest of Burgundy put together.
Négociants perform the function of assembling their own label wines from grapes, grape must or even wine from small vineyards who do not have full commercial access to the retail market. It may not be economically viable for a small grower to make his own wine so he sells his product to a négociant who blends wine produced from many parcels of land into an appellation product for the retail market. Some négociants including Louis Jadot own their own vineyards and produce wine of the highest quality. Another favourite of mine is Joseph Faively and his Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is one of the finest wines I have ever drunk but this is of course not a blended wine! It is also very expensive.
Négociants are not just limited to Burgundy; some of the most renowned names in Champagne make blended champagnes. In fact most of the Champagne drunk in the world is made by a House or Négociant so look for the letters NM on the label or Négociant-Manipulant. House wines are blended to achieve a consistent taste which reflects the label and this is quite a difficult art. One of my favourite House Champagnes is Mercier, which is based in Epernay, it is not too expensive but represents all the good qualities of a bubbly wine which will not empty your pocket on your birthday.
The idea of blending wine using grapes from different parcels of vineyards has spread to the New World. Some of these wines are mass produced but this does not mean that they are of poor quality and some of them are very good value for money.
Whilst négociant blended wines may never achieve the absolute quality of some of the finest estate or domaine produced wines they can be highly competitive. They can also be awful - so buyer beware do your research and taste the product before buying that case on offer.
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