Macon Villages Emmanuel Giboulot 2022

Macon Villages Emmanuel Giboulot, natural and organic wine, maturing vintage, rich in texture, flavour, depth and complexity.  The Macon comes from brown limestone and calcic soils inherited from the Middle Jurassic.  Emmanuel does a cold soak and settling for 24-48 hours before fermentation in large oak barrels. This helps preserve the fruit and mineral quality of the Chardonnay grape. When young the wines are steely fresh with cutting acid, with a bit of age, they start to move, enrich, express and intrigue. The Macon wines from Emmanuel are no less impressive than those of the Cotes de Beaune, layered and rich and flavour, an absolutely gorgeous example of top Burgundy and well worth the price. Will age magnificently, we remember the 2017 which at 6 years old was superb.

Emmanuel Giboulet is somewhat of a renegade in the Burgundy bubble, resisting wholeheartedly the use of chemicals and pesticides in the vineyard.

He started out wanting to be an actor and when you meet the guy, you immediately understand this.  He has a suave, elegant persona, very calm, intelligent but with a glint in his eye and wicked sense of humour.  As always the wines reflect the personality of the wine maker.

Paul Giboulot, Emmanuel’s father, was a true trailblazer in organic viticulture. In the 1970’s, when organic farming was very misunderstood, Paul began to work using these methods – plowing, composting, avoiding chemicals and respecting soil life and biodiversity. Even though the reaction from fellow winemakers was skeptical, Emmanuel saw the impact and when he set up his domaine in 1985, he naturally followed the same path.

Emmanuel slowly grew his domaine over time, and began to follow biodynamic practices in 1996. His wines became highly regarded and sold out each vintage, while he wholeheartedly rejected the use of chemicals and pesticides in the vineyard.

In 2014 his commitment to his chosen path risked landing him in jail when the appellation called for all vineyards to be sprayed with chemicals to protect against the spread of ‘florescence dorée’ (a vineyard disease).  His refusal to do so ignited a firestorm of debate in the wine community, and he was prosecuted and fined. But he firmly defended his freedom to choose how to care for his land. In 2021 the ordeal was the subject of a film entitled ‘Intraitable’ (Intractable) and the issue branded Emmanuel as both a renegade and a staunch protector of organic farming– an identity that still defines him today.

He has now grown his holdings to nearly 10 hectares with small plots all over the Cotes de Beaune and some in Cotes de Nuits. He remains committed to his principles and he even has the enviable reputation of being ‘supposedly’ the only producer in Burgundy never to chaptalise his wines.  He also never uses new oak, only used barrels.

He is a purist through and through, and this makes his wines in some ways not commercial and for some, difficult to understand.  Burgundy is perhaps the most artistic of all great wines and Giboulot is for sure an artist at heart.  He does not respond to what the market asks for but instead allows his beautiful terroir, the vintage and the grapes to create authenticity in his wines.  For us, they represent what Burgundy should be, sometimes difficult, always intriguing and always a pleasure even if the pleasure is not immediately obvious.