Quintaine is a small village in the Mâconnais, set between Viré and Clessé. Hereabouts are several winemakers with the surname Michel – and not all of them related. René MICHEL and Guillemot MICHEL have been joined by Jean-Pierre MICHEL.

J-P MICHEL struck out on his own only a few years ago. Nevertheless the 2010 edition of Hachette Wine Guide already recognises him as un vigneron respectueux. He gets plaudits too from the Hostellerie d'Helöise, a restaurant in Cluny with a fine wine list.

He speaks eloquently of his working methods and clearly has no intention of producing standard fare.

We tasted 4 different wines, 2 of them in two different vintages. Most of his volume comes from Viré Clessé Terroirs de Quintaine and Viré Clessé sur le Chêne. One is matured in stainless steel, the other in oak. Alcohol levels routinely exceed 14%, and in 2006, a warm September presented him with high levels of residual sugar too. “La nature a décidé en 2006 de nous offrir ce Millésime d'Exception” records MICHEL on his back label. Sadly he only has magnums of this vintage left.

2007 wines are more orthodox. I thought the unoaked wine had the edge, its roundedness conveyed by a back taste of coconut. They sell for 11€ (Terroirs de Quintaine) and 13€ (sur le Chêne). While not cheap compared with competition from the nearby co-operatives, these wines represent good value for the quality

Worth a visit? Yes

Jean Pierre MICHEL, Place de Quintaine, 71260 Clessé

Tel: 03 85 23 04 82 within France

Tel: 0033 3 85 23 04 82 outside France

vinsjpmichel@orange.fr

Available in the UK? No

Disaster strikes Pouilly Fuisse

The weather was generally hot in southern Burgundy during July. However there have been some heavy storms, usually in the evening. The local newspaper, le Journal de Saone-et-Loire, reported in its 3 August edition that two storms on 13 and 23 July, were accompanied by heavy hail. These had a disasterous effect on vineyards in the Pouilly Fuisse. The villages of Pouilly and Fuisse were hardest hit by the first storm, with Solutre and Davaye being most affected by the later storm. Between 30% and 80% of ripening grpaes may have been destroyed.