Christian Collovray and Jean-Luc Terrier had been friends since childhood and shared a love of the vines and of wine. Their bond became even closer when they married two sisters, Brigitte and Florence, also from a family of winegrowers. The four of them dreamed of together creating an estate to make wine from Christian’s vines, and those of his father. A year later, in 1986 the history of the Domaine truly began, when this dream became a reality.
They didn’t have to think very long to find the name of the Domaine. All the vines were grouped around the two Rocks of Vergisson and Solutré, part of the unique geological heritage of the southern Mâconnais, with their vestiges of prehistoric human activity.
The rugged terrain that is home to the vines is dominated by the limestone crags of Solutré and Vergisson, vestiges of a prehistoric era, and by Mont de Pouilly, more rounded but just as high, culminating at some 485 metres.
The Domaine sits in the heart of the picturesque Mâconnais landscape, and the vines extend around the villages of Davayé, Prissé, Vergisson, Pierreclos, Charnay-lès-Mâcon, Chardonnay, Chevagny and Hurigny. A total of 63 hectares de vines, of which around 24 are in the Saint-Véran appellation, 25 in Mâcon-Villages, Mâcon or Mâcon Chardonnay, and Mâcon La Roche Vineuse, and 2,300 square metres in Pouilly-Fuissé, all producing white wines, plus a little under a hectare of Mâcon rouge.
Their white wines are all pure Chardonnay. The vines have the benefit of all the geological treasures to be found in these well exposed limestone clay soils, as well as a favourable climate. The wines of Deux Roches are in pure Mâconnais style – fresh, incisive, pure, and marked by minerality. They are created by blending different parcels, an art that we have been perfecting for 30 years.
The Macon Village Tradition cuvée is a blend of several plots selected for their soil qualities (limestone, draining) and exposure (early south-east facing sectors). This allows the development of wines with a straightforward, fruity, lively and fresh style in the pure spirit of Mâconnais wines.
After harvest, the grapes are loaded by gravity into pneumatic presses. The presses are slow and long in order to delicately extract the juices and thus preserve the aromatic finesse. Then the musts are cooled and decanted. The vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature. Depending on the vintage, malolactic fermentation is desired or not. The aging takes place on fine lees until spring. From picking to bottling, we limit the use of inputs such as SO2 as much as possible.
All the spirit of a Chardonnay du Mâconnais transpires in this glass: floral generosity of the trails, gourmet flavour of yellow fruits (peach and apricot) with a balancing touch of acidity
