Maison Valette

The very definition of emotional wines

Do you know the white wines of Burgundy? Have you ever tasted the wines of Maison Valette? No? Then you don't yet know the great natural white wines of Burgundy and the Mâconnais. Faced with a wave of opulent wines marked by heavy oak, there is this institution, masterfully run by Cécile and Philippe Valette and his brother Baptiste.
Epi-curieux went looking for Chardonnays of incredible precision and complexity. Emotional wines you simply must discover!

The story of Maison Valette

Welcome to the Mâconnais, to Chaintré, close to the area's most famous appellation, Pouilly-Fuissé, where Domaine Robert-Denogent also excels. This is where the Valette family settled (thank you!).
This third generation makes wines with a striking personality, truly authentic natural wines. But that didn't happen overnight.
Cécile and Philippe Valette, together with his brother Baptiste, farm 15 hectares of vines in Chaintré and Vinzelles. Since the family settled in 1992, the estate has been run biodynamically, with the utmost respect for the soil.
Passionate, Philippe Valette wants to bring out the best and most natural expression of his terroir. If Maison Valette's wines are so exceptional, it is because of the special attention paid to terroirs, soils, vines and the time it takes to make them.

Natural wines from Burgundy

The two brothers have always been aware of the quality of their environment, which is why no chemicals are used in the vineyard.
Maison Valette took the time to observe its plots according to their geography and geology, and to understand their clay-limestone and siliceous soils. Why so much care? Because healthy vines are essential for exceptional natural wines, and that means maintaining the microbial life needed for this balance.
Philippe and Baptiste aerate their soils by ploughing or with grass cover depending on the plot. The vines are left to fend for themselves and draw their energy from deep down, where their roots develop naturally.

Winemaking at Maison Valette

To make inimitable Chardonnays, Cécile and Philippe Valette work in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
By respecting their vines and not smothering them with chemicals, they grow healthy grapes. To preserve their quality and freshness, yields are kept low. The grapes are picked at perfect ripeness, tasted directly on the vine.
Harvesting is done by hand in small 15 kg crates, with no machines in the vineyard.
Once picked, the grapes go straight into the pneumatic press and the juice flows by gravity into stainless steel tanks. At the Valettes', sulphur is not welcome during winemaking, nor any other additive.
This precise and rigorous work allows Philippe Valette to protect the native yeasts that drive fermentation. In Burgundy, and especially in the Mâconnais, Cécile, Philippe and Baptiste are seen as masters of Chardonnay winemaking and of the long ageing that follows. The Epi-curieux.com team is delighted to offer you a few of Maison Valette's wines. Great Chardonnays for exceptional moments! If you know the house, you know these wines become even more amazing with time. Be patient (if you can), and you will have all of Maison Valette's excellence in your glass.

The cuvées of Maison Valette

Maison Valette makes a benchmark Pouilly-Fuissé, a blend of marl-limestone terroirs in Fuissé: pure Chardonnay, complex, fruity and beautifully mineral… How could you resist?
MesdemoiZelles comes from the Pouilly-Vinzelles appellation but is declassified (their Vinzelles is nothing like the overly standardised wines of the appellation): a wine of great class, showing all of Philippe Valette's talent, from old Chardonnay vines with an exceptional balance of ripeness and finesse.
In Mâcon-Chaintré, Maison Valette makes Hors-Piste: a Chardonnay aged 10 years on its lees for an incredible, intense oxidative style. The signature of the house!
Philippe Valette also works the old vines of Mâcon-Chaintré for a classy Chardonnay: aged for 3 years, ripe and mineral, it can become addictive…
A must-visit house for lovers of great natural white wines! Enjoy these rarities.