SOUTH BURGUNDY

 

MICHEL CHEVEAU

Not for lack of trying, but it has been a struggle to find (in our opinion) the perfect Pouilly Fuissé…neither too oaky on one hand, nor too lean and mean on the other. And after years of searching we found it in an unexpected place.

We happened to be saying exactly that to Bruno Boisson in Cairanne in the southern Rhone, when he ducked into a corner of the cellar and came back with a bottle of Pouilly Fuissé “Les Trois Terroirs” made by his friend Nicolas Cheveau. At last, just what we were looking for!

 

We never quite get over the almost primal presence of the two jagged rock faces of La Roche de Solutré and La Roche de Vergisson, with the small village of Vergisson nestling between and the even smaller village of Pouilly below – the village that time forgot. We were the most far-flung visitors for Cheveau and the whole family and a stageiste from Macon popped in to watch us tasting! Nicolas is the third generation in the familiy domaine carrying his father Michel’s name. They have 11 hectares.  Everything is handmade. The whites are left on their lees for 8-12 months, with stirring every one or two weeks. 

 

The Macon-Solutré comes from red argile Solutré soil. The 2006 has a lovely, wide Chardonnay nose, ripe compact fruit and good acidity. The St Véran comes from a half hectare plot on Davayé soil, and vinified entirely in tank. There is a sense of yellow flowers in the nose and a lovely richness in the mouth. Probably the finest St Véran we’ve tasted. Then onto the Pouilly-Fuissé. “Les Trois Terroirs” is an assemblage of three separate parcels all in Pouilly. 70% in large Fudre and 30% in 5/6 y.o oak barrels. Amazing ripeness, a light touch of botrytis, providing a fascinating complex nose – agrûmes (citrus fruits, especially grapefruit), notes of honey and even wild mushrooms. Fabulous volume and density but with a core of good acidity to stop it being too heavy. Aux Bouthieres is a single parcel of old vines, vinified in oak.

 

white
	MACON-POUILLY-SOLUTRE	2007	10.99
	ST VÉRAN	2007	12.99
	POUILLY-FUISSE Vieilles Vignes	2006	19.99
	POUILLY-FUISSE Aux Bouthieres	2006	21.50