The soils in Macon and the Côte Chalonnaise share some common characteristics - Jurassic limestone soils dominant. In some villages, some soils assemblages content a high level of clay while others are Jurassic assemblages where hard limestones and softer marls alternate. Variations in the Mâconnais landform has led to more diversity of soils like brown limestone, clayey, and sandy soils mixed with sandstone pebbles. Vines growing around Solutré are rooted in red marls that have been covered with limestone scree.

Domaine François Raquillet has records showing that the same family have made wine in Mercurey since the 1600s. François Raquillet took over the 10 hectares from his dad, Jean, in 1990 and started a long process of increaing the quality. He first reduced yields, introduced higher quality oak barrels and significantly increased the quality of grapes produced in the vineyard. More investments and control in the cellar also helped to reach higher quality wine. The idea is to produce wine with the best fruits, and using only the best part of the grapes by avoiding over-extraction