Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Aux Chailloux 2023
£42.75
The wine
Pale lemon in colour. Aromas of ripe apricot, peach and lemon zest burst out of the glass. On the palate, there is a rich texture from the lees ageing, a marked minerality and a vibrant acidity which carries the well-defined flavours onto the lingering finish.
Pouilly-Fuisse only gained premier cru status in 2020, the first new premiers crus in Burgundy for decades, and Aux Chailloux is one of the twenty-two climats promoted. The bunches were whole-bunch pressed at the Moulin-a-Vent winery, the must kept at 8C and racked off its sediment, then fermented entirely in used French oak. Malolactic followed naturally and the wine was aged on fine lees in barrel, which accounts for the weight it carries without losing its cut.
The producer
Domaine du Roc des Boutires
View all Domaine du Roc des Boutires winesDomaine du Roc des Boutires sits in the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé, and takes its name from two landmarks: the excellent Aux Bouthiéres vineyard next door, and the Roche de Solutré, the limestone escarpment that rears over the commune of Solutré-Pouilly. The rock is a piece of extraordinary geology and an emblem of the region; locals call it the Sphinx of the Mâconnais.
The Parinet family, of Château du Moulin-â-Vent in Beaujolais, bought the domaine in 2016 and have injected real energy into it. There are 4.8 hectares of Chardonnay across Pouilly-Fuissé and the surrounding villages, worked as individual parcels rather than blended into a single house style.
The winemaking is consistent and unfussy across the range: hand picking, whole-bunch pressing at the Moulin-â-Vent winery, the must held at 8C and settled off its sediment before fermentation. What changes is the vessel. The Mâcon-Solutré ferments in stainless steel and ages on lees; En Bertilionne is split half and half between steel and French oak; and Aux Chailloux, a premier cru since the 2020 classification that gave Pouilly-Fuissé its first twenty-two climats, ferments entirely in used oak and rests on fine lees in barrel.
