Pre Arrival Guffens-Heynen Bourgogne Jeunes et Derriers Jus 2024

Notes:

Producer: Domaine Guffens-Heynen is the Mâconnais estate of Jean-Marie Guffens and Maine Heynen, who settled in the region in 1976 and began making wine in 1980. Working from Pierreclos, Guffens developed a reputation for an unusually exacting approach to Chardonnay, with careful vineyard work, selective harvesting and separate handling of different press fractions playing important roles in the domaine’s style. The estate should be distinguished from Verget, the négociant operation Guffens established in 1990; this Bourgogne is a domaine wine carrying the Guffens-Heynen name.
Vineyard: The name “Jeunes Vignes et Derniers Jus” describes how the cuvée is assembled rather than identifying a single vineyard. For the 2024, the wine combines Chardonnay from young vines in Pierreclos with later press fractions from the domaine’s other wines. Multiple sources describe the young-vine component as roughly half of the blend, with the remainder coming from these later pressings; another detailed source identifies the latter as material from Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé. It is an unusual Bourgogne Blanc in that its identity comes directly from Guffens’ approach to pressing and selection, bringing together younger-vine fruit with material originating in more important Mâconnais terroirs.
Winemaking: This cuvée is deliberately handled without the oak élevage associated with many of Guffens-Heynen’s more ambitious whites. The 2024 was fermented and raised in concrete vats, an approach intended to preserve the fruit and freshness of the Chardonnay. Guffens himself describes the wine as being made from the final pressings together with young vines from Pierreclos, with concrete used to retain the generous fruit he wants in this Bourgogne. A detailed 2024 listing also reports indigenous-yeast fermentation, élevage on the lees and bottling without fining or filtration.
Technical Details: 100% Chardonnay from the 2024 vintage, classified as Bourgogne AOC and produced as a dry white wine. The wine is bottled in 750ml format. Published merchant information consistently confirms the Chardonnay variety, Bourgogne appellation and concrete-vat élevage. Alcohol figures vary among available sources, so I would leave the ABV out rather than use an uncertain figure. The combination of young-vine fruit, later press fractions and concrete élevage makes this a particularly distinctive entry point into Guffens-Heynen.
Food Pairing: The freshness and Chardonnay fruit make this well suited to seafood and lighter preparations with enough richness to meet the wine’s texture. Try it with mussels, roast or poached cod, sole meunière, scallops, roast chicken, or a simple white-fish preparation with citrus and herbs. A serving temperature around 12°C works well, allowing the wine to open without losing its freshness.