Bret Brothers & La Soufrandière

There are no two ways about it: Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret produce some of the finest wines in the Mâconnais. Their grandfather purchased vines in Vinzelles in 1947, but in 2000 the brothers re-claimed the vineyards, which had until then been part of the local co-operative.

These four hectares formed the basis of their new estate, Domaine de la Soufrandière – and it has fast become one of the leading names in the region. Today the property, in the heart of Pouilly-Vinzelles, amounts to 12 hectares, meticulously farmed organically and biodynamically. The vines are all over 33 years in age, with some significantly older.

Yields are generally low (limited to circa 40hl/ha), with painstaking selection of fruit key to quality. In the winery, the brothers intervene as little as possible – using native yeast, minimal sulphur dioxide (with some zero-sulphur bottlings labelled as “Cuvée Zen”) and no new oak whatsoever. They believe that exposing the free-run juice to just the right amount of oxygen allows the wines to become more resilient in the long-term (and therefore less reliant on SO2 for protection).

Chardonnay dominates production (although there is half a hectare of Aligoté), and the wines are fresh and precise, offering a brilliant modern interpretation of classic Burgundy, that invariably ages well too.

They also have a négociant arm, created in 2001 under the Bret Bros name, working with vineyards managed by friends who share their viticultural philosophy – worked organically at a minimum, but often with some biodynamic practices too.