In the village of Vire, in the Maconnais of southern Burgundy, Gilles and Catherine Verge make some of the most uncompromising natural wines in France. Driven by a commitment to zero additives and the most sensitive farming possible, they have built a cult following among open-minded drinkers for their genre-bending, long-aged Chardonnays.
Backstory
The couple have farmed around Vire since the 1980s. In 1998 they left their local cooperative cellar to make wine entirely their own way, and have since become passionate campaigners for the natural wine movement.
The Region
Their home is the Maconnais, the southern stretch of Burgundy whose east-facing slopes of Jurassic clay and limestone are ideal for Chardonnay. Because their wines so often deviate from regional norms, many are bottled as Vin de France rather than under appellation rules.
Vineyards and Farming
The Verges farm roughly three hectares of old-vine Chardonnay, with vines ranging widely in age and the parcel behind their Vieilles Vignes cuvee now over 135 years old. They work organically, without synthetic chemicals, and carry out the work by hand.
Winemaking
Grapes are hand-harvested and directly pressed, then fermented with indigenous yeasts. The Verges use no oak; instead the wines undergo extraordinarily long aging in stainless steel and enamel-lined tanks, sometimes for years, allowing them to stabilize naturally without fining, filtration or added sulphites.
The Wines
The result is a range of profound, often boldly oxidative Chardonnays released after extended aging, wines that taste like nothing else in Burgundy and reward patience and curiosity in equal measure.
