Collection: Domaine Thierry Drouin

Since 1981, Thierry Drouin, and now his son Charles, have been making wines in Vergisson, only three miles from Pierreclos in southern Burgundy overlooking the Rocks of Solutré and Vergisson. Charles and Paul were friends growing up with neighboring vineyards before studying wine production together. Like most of the wine produced in the Mâconnais  region, they primarily produce Chardonnay, which expresses itself superbly well, on their clay and limestone soils.  The vineyards are situated on a prehistoric lagoon that explains the massive 160-million-year-old rocks of fossilized coral.

The estate now covers about 10 hectares, planted at 8,000 vines per hectare, 7 of which are in Pouilly-Fuissé, along with 3 hectares of Mâcon (white and red) and 0.6 of Saint-Véran.  Vineyards are mostly ploughed, rather than sprayed, following the principles "lutte raisonée" allowing for a better aeration of the soil and microbial life.  Vines are trained with Guyot pruning in a dual arch fashion (typical of the Mâconnais). 

Charles and Thierry's most distinguished wines are from the Pouilly-Fuissé Cru.  Vines from Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards are exclusively hand-harvested, and the grapes are delicately pressed in the winery.  The must is then decanted in tanks for 16 to 18 hours and gravity-fed into oak barrels for fermentation.  Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are carried out in barrels, and the wine aged on fine lees for 8 to 18 months before bottling at the estate.