After studying a year in France in 1976, Maine and Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen never returned to their native Flanders. Enchanted by the Burgundy vineyard and the land of Vergisson so dear to Lamartine, they cast aside their artistic impulses for the viticulture school of Mâcon. An internship with a producer and here they are now, three years later, at the head of a small vineyard in Pierreclos. Domaine Guffens-Heynen was born. In 1990, the couple decided to expand their activities and create the Verget trading house in Sologny. Breaking with the Burgundian traditions, they would be the first to buy white grapes from the best domaines of Mâconnais, Côte d'Or and Chablisien. The wines are then vinified, aged and then marketed under their own name; excluding trading, the Domaine Guffens also produces Mâcon-Pierreclos, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé, and since 1997, VDP of the Vaucluse of the Domaine des Tourettes. Against all odds, these "philistines" mastered the art of Chardonnay, respected by all (including the greatest of the Côte de Beaune), praised by critics, sought after by connoisseurs. The wines from the Mâconnais and the Luberon have acquired a solid reputation; cuvées polished like diamonds, always very pure, and both rich and tense.

Chavigne is a 4.5-hectare plot on a unique terroir featuring steep slopes and loose stones. 3.5 hectares of this is owned by Jean-Marie Guffens, and is planted with vines aged between 10 and 80 years, with a south-westerly exposure. A plot that intermingles with the Mâcon-Pierreclos appellation: the final enclave before the Beaujolais, the last pebbles before the soil turns brown, suffused with the memory of the poet Lamartine, who was born 2 km away and always cherished these champs de vignes. It is from these final clay-limestone substrates that the wines draw their mineral character, creating a finely-honed overall combination that is not found anywhere else.