Saint-Véran
Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré.
- Wine village
- 1 h 10 from Beaune
- White wine
€700for a full-day wine tour plus two hours, from Beaune, up to 4 guests
At a glance
- Appellations
- Saint-Véran
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 10 by road (97 km), €260 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About Saint-Véran
Saint-Véran is a white wine appellation in the far south of the Mâconnais, about 70 minutes from Beaune. Its villages form two separate sections, north and south of Pouilly-Fuissé, on the slopes around the Roche de Solutré. The wines are fresh, fruity Chardonnay, easy to enjoy young.
The wines
Saint-Véran is white only, from Chardonnay, on about 735 hectares. The soils are fossil-rich limestones of Middle Jurassic age, with grey marls on the western slopes, marly limestones on the eastern ones and patches of clay with flints. There are no premiers crus. The wines are fresh and fruity, often with white flowers and citrus, and they are usually approachable young, which makes them a good introduction to Mâconnais white.
History
The appellation was created on 6 January 1971. Before that, its wines were sold as white Mâcon-Villages or white Beaujolais-Villages. The name comes from the tiny village of Saint-Vérand, one of the ten smallest communes in Saône-et-Loire, although the appellation drops the final d. Its church has a squat bell tower with an octagonal spire, which holds one of the oldest bells in the diocese of Autun, cast in 1733.
The villages have deep roots. Davayé's church of Saint-Julien appears in a charter of Cluny as early as 947. In 1059 King Henri I gave Leynes to the Benedictine monks of Tournus. The village later became a stronghold of the Dukes of Burgundy, controlling the Saône plain, until Louis XI took it in 1471. After phylloxera, growers replanted with Chardonnay in a district where red Gamay had long dominated.
What to see
Roche de Solutré
The limestone cliff that watches over both Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé rises to 493 metres. A path climbs to the top, and the prehistory museum sits at its foot.
Leynes
A hillside village above the Arlois valley, with views south to the hills of Saint-Vérand and Saint-Amour. Its church of Saint-Vital has modern glass-slab windows installed in 1989.
Davayé
Its church of Saint-Julien, partly Romanesque and first mentioned in 947, holds a listed 17th-century painting of the Holy Family. The village is also home to a wine school.
Tips for your visit
Saint-Véran fits naturally into a Pouilly-Fuissé day, since the two vineyards interlock. Allow time for the Roche de Solutré and a village tasting, and return to Beaune by the motorway from Mâcon.
Around here
What to combine with Saint-Véran on the same day, nearest first.
Guides about Saint-Véran
Questions
Saint-Véran is about 1 h 10 from Beaune by road (97 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €260 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The appellation is spelled Saint-Véran, while the village that gave its name is Saint-Vérand, with a final d. The vineyard is also split in two by Pouilly-Fuissé.
Sources
Saint-Véran with a private driver
Full-day wine tour plus two hours from Beaune: €700 for the car, up to 4 guests