Daniel and Martine Barraud – Mâcon-Vergisson La Roche 2005

📜 The winery: Domaine Barraud

The winery is based in Vergisson, a picturesque village in the heart of the Mâconnais, dominated by the monumental ‘Roche de Vergisson’ .

• History: The Barraud family can look back on over 100 years of winemaking tradition in Vergisson, which began in 1905. The estate is now run by Daniel Barraud (fourth generation) and his wife Martine, who is regarded as a ‘master of the vines’ . Their son Julien joined the team in 2006, marking the start of the generational handover.

• Farming practices: The domaine cultivates around 8.5 to 11 hectares of vineyards. Since around 2005 , the entire estate has been runorganically. The wines are vinified using traditional methods, often with extended ageing on the lees and bottled without filtration.

🍇 The wine: Mâcon-Vergisson “La Roche”

The “La Roche” vineyard is named after the famous rock and is considered one of the appellation’s finest sites.

• Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay.

• Terroir: The vines for this wine grow on calcareous and clayey soils at an altitude of around 380 metres. This altitude creates a cooler microclimate, which promotes slow ripening and good acidity.

• Vine age: In the 2005 vintage, the grapes came from 25-year-old vines.

📝 Reviews and descriptions for the 2005 vintage

The most comprehensive description of the Daniel & Martine Barraud Mâcon-Vergisson La Roche 2005 can be found in the work of the renowned Burgundy critic Allen Meadows (Burghound). He awarded the wine 89 points and described it as follows:

“A fruit compote nose with a strong emphasis on peach jam on toasted bread leads to extremely ripe, yet not overripe, flavours that coat the palate with dry,full-bodied extract and culminate in an almost painfully intense finish . This is an exotic, opulent, even dramatic wine, which is not to everyone’s taste, but for those who enjoy big and distinctly ripe white wines, this would be a good choice.”

This note paints a picture of an exceptionally dense, ripe and powerful wine, which is unusually extravagant for a Mâcon-Vergisson. Another source describes the 2005 vintage generally as outstanding and even draws comparisons with this wine.

🍷 Drinking maturity and enjoyment

Given its description as “opulent” and “dramatic” with an “almost painfully intense” finish, it can be assumed that the Daniel et Martine Barraud Mâcon-Vergisson La Roche 2005 was a wine with great potential for development. It is likely to have developed well over many years.

• Current condition: A wine of this age and character should now be at the peak of its maturity or have already passed it.

• Serving recommendation: It is recommended to decant the bottle and serve the wine not too cold (approx. 12–14°C) to allow its full spectrum of aromas to unfold.

In summary, it can be said that this wine offers a unique opportunity to experience a mature, opulent and extremely concentrated white wine from an exceptional vineyard site.