The Wines of Jean-Marie Guffens | Verget, Tourettes & Tinus

Before being able to spend significant time in the Maconnais, Jean-Marie was a believer, like many others, that great chardonnay comes from the more serious appellations. He didn't have enough money to acquire vineyards at the time, so he started buying fruit and created Verget in 1990.Verget follows the same ideals as the Domaine wines " the best wine is made using the best grapes" they have always only bought grapes in a very meticulous manner. Since 2006, Julien Desplans joined Jean-Marie and oversees all of the vineyards and purchases, while JeanMarie is still supporting with the vilification. By its original approach, Verget is a laboratory of terroirs and a creator of climates which reveals all the aspects, all the nuances and the subtleties of the same appellation. The relationships with the growers are most important, as Verget determines the vineyard management and is often doing the picking.

As with the domaine wines, the press is a crucial part of the Verget process. Each plot is pressed and vinified separately. During pressing, the person in charge is carefully watching and tasting along the way. The wines are aged on the lees and stirred depending on each cuvee and vintage. Aging is in cement tanks, stainless vats, or barrels and often the final product is a combination. There are unique cement tanks that have an egg shape and are horizontal rather than vertical which allows for natural circulation of the lees