2 new Premiers Crus with 0 chemical weedkillers and 0 harvesting machines

he appellations of Mâcon, in southern Burgundy, which mostly focus on Chardonnay, are once again in the spotlight. After 24% of the 800 hectares classified as Pouilly-Fuissé were recognised as Premier Cru in 2020, the same status has now been granted to its two ‘siblings’, Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loché.

The new production specifications were approved in the Official Journal dated 20 and 21 November 2024. Pouilly-Vinzelles with its 52 hectares under vine can now label 22 hectares as Premier Cru (the named sites of Les Longeays, Les Pétaux and Les Quarts), whilst in Pouilly-Loché, 7 ha can now claim Premier Cru status (for the named site Les Mûres) out of a total 32 hectares.

The statement can be appended as of the 2024 vintage. “It was not a foregone conclusion, especially because the final leg of the process occurred when the lower house of parliament was dissolved!” admits Olivier Giroux, the chairman of both producers’ organisations, who is relishing the culmination of 18 years of work. “We began to work on the process in 2006”.

Among the production conditions approved, lowering of the maximum yield from 60 hl/ha to 58 hl/ha is not surprising, nor is the transition of minimum alcohol content from 11 to 12%. However, the ban on machine harvesting is noteworthy. “It differentiates us from Pouilly-Fuissé which did not choose this ban in 2020. And even from most Burgundy Grands Crus”, stresses Giroux.

Another issue that prompted some lively debates during the working sessions was the total ban on chemical weedkillers. “Pouilly-Fuissé chose to ban it, except for biological control. But the industry quickly realised that it was virtually impossible to demonstrate that glyphosate had been used instead of Beloukha. So we opted for a blanket ban”.