Bouchard Père & Fils is one of the great names of Beaune, and this is its Chardonnay from the Mâconnais, a long way south of the Côte d'Or. Pouilly-Fuissé is a village appellation in the hills around Solutré and Vergisson, where Chardonnay is the only grape allowed and the limestone gives the wine its spine.
- Chardonnay, the only grape of the appellation.
- Pouilly-Fuissé, Mâconnais, southern Burgundy.
- 2019, a warm vintage in Burgundy.
- 13% ABV, dry, medium body, high acidity.
- Green apple, lemon, white peach, hazelnut, mineral.
How it is made
Chardonnay grown on the limestone and clay slopes of the Mâconnais, the same grape as white Burgundy further north but from a warmer, more open landscape. Pouilly-Fuissé is a village appellation, and its rules keep it to Chardonnay alone. The wine is dry and still, with the high acidity that the region's cool nights hold onto even in a ripe year.
How it tastes
Ripe fruit leads: green apple, lemon and white peach, with a hazelnut note underneath and a clear mineral edge. The mouth is both fresh and silky, medium in weight, the acidity carrying the fruit rather than cutting it. Low tannin, as white Burgundy should be.
Where it comes from
The Mâconnais sits at the southern end of Burgundy, and Pouilly-Fuissé is its most recognised white appellation. The vineyards run around the limestone outcrops of Solutré and Vergisson, and the soils there are the reason the wines keep a stony, saline finish. It is Chardonnay in a fuller, more generous register than the Côte de Beaune, without losing the region's freshness.
Good to know
Pouilly-Fuissé was granted its own appellation in 1936, and in recent years a set of premier cru vineyards has been recognised within it, the first in the Mâconnais. The name has nothing to do with Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, which is Sauvignon Blanc. Two villages, two grapes, one confusing pair.
