Premiers Jus Des Croux
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2029
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted lobster, creamy mushroom risotto, pan-seared veal sweetbreads
✨ Technical Specifications
The 'Premiers Jus Des Croux' is an extraordinary, micro-production masterpiece from the iconoclastic Jean-Marie Guffens. Crafted from the steep, limestone-rich slopes of the 'Les Croux' vineyard in Mâcon-Pierreclos, this cuvée represents Guffens' revolutionary press-fractioning technique. He isolates the very first press juice ('premiers jus'), which contains the highest natural acidity, lowest pH, and most intense mineral definition. This uncompromising method bypasses the heavier press fractions to capture a pure, crystalline essence of Chardonnay. Historically, Guffens-Heynen shattered the traditional quality hierarchy of Burgundy, proving that the Mâconnais could yield whites of the same monumental depth, tension, and longevity as the grandest crus of the Côte de Beaune.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1979 by Flemish visionaries Jean-Marie Guffens and Maine Heynen, Domaine Guffens-Heynen transformed the viticultural perception of the southern Mâconnais. Spanning just over 5.3 hectares across the limestone-rich slopes of Vergisson, Pierreclos, and Davayé, the estate operates on a philosophy of meticulous canopy management, strict yield restrictions, and zero chemical treatments, strictly independent of formal certification regimes. Harvests are carried out across multiple manual passes to secure fruit at pristine physiological ripeness. In the cellar, Guffens employs gentle parcel-by-parcel extractions using a vintage vertical press, rigorous separation of press fractions (yielding his signature 'Premiers Jus' bottlings), native yeast fermentations, and extended lees aging in French oak with minimal batonnage. Benchmark bottlings such as Mâcon-Pierreclos Le Chavigne, Juliette et les Vieilles de Chavigne, and Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru Sur la Roche embody an unmistakable masterclass of dramatic power, crystalline acidity, and singular mineral tension that rivals the greatest white burgundies of the Côte de Beaune.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay