Pouilly-Fuissé Les Vignes Blanches Premier Cru

I love the depth and focus to this with wonderful layered fruit of apple, flint, crushed stone, and matchstick. Full and focused with the intensity and length of a premier cru Puligny. Great Pouilly Fuisse. Drink or hold.

Fabien Duperray is a well known wine agent name, representing some of the finest Bourgogne estates, including DRC, Arnaud Ente, and Coche-Dury among others. However, he wanted to try his hand at making amazing wine, not just selling it. In 2007 he purchased gnarly old Gamay vineyards in Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent (some 140+ years old), and he added some Chardonnay parcels from select Côte Macconais sites in 2014, which he shares with Christophe Thibert. Farming is biodynamic, everything is done by hand (tractor-free), and yields are low. The name of the winery pays homage to Jules Chauvet, the winemaker, scientist, and Beaujolais native who is often credited for launching the natural wine movement. Les Vignes Blanches is a steeply-sloping vineyard facing southeast in the heart of Fuissé. It was native fermented and vinified 80% in tanks and 20% in new barrels, before aging in barrels. Such a profound wine, with deep chalk imbuing lemon peel, green apple, and flake salt. Structural, full bodied, powerful, but still with a lightness of being that is strung taut and vibrating along the saline finish. Tasting beautifully now, and with time ahead.