POUILLY FUISSÉ

2012 Alliance-Vergisson Domaine Daniel Barraud

EN PRIMEUR

Pretty green-gold. Taut and fresh with excellent volume and purity. Expressive finish, lots going on here, vivacious, bouncy, tangy.L&S (Jan 2014)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

From one of the Maconnais' stars, Daniel Barraud, this is a ripe and complex Pouilly Fuissé whose concentration of rich stone-fruit Chardonnay flavour is characterised by a fine tension between seamless fruit freshness etched with light citrus and a lingering, stony dry finish. Rating: 90 The Wine Gang - www.thewinegang.com (Feb 2015)

The 2012 Pouilly-Fuissé “Alliance” Vieilles Vignes is a blend of several parcels matured in oak barrels and demi-muids, the vines aged between 40 and 60 years. It has a slightly more reticent bouquet than Barraud’s other 2012s at this stage, demanding more coaxing from the glass. The palate is rounded and almost viscous on the entry with light-honeyed tones infusing the citrus fruit that builds towards the thickly textured lemongrass-tinged finish. Good length here – a thoroughly decent Pouilly-Fuissé. Drinking range: 2014 - 2018 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2014)

Rating: 92 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Jan 2014)

Gently oaked, giving a subtle spice. Restrained green citrus. Perfectly pleasant and bright, if not hugely engaging. 2014-2018 Rating: 16 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2014)

(from 35 to 45 year old vines blended from three vineyards; marketed under the name of Daniel’s son, Julien Barraud). This actually has a similar nose to the Les Pommards with solid concentration and an abundance of dry extract on the seductively textured, lush and fleshy medium weight flavors that possess average depth at present but very fine length. If this can develop more complexity it should merit the upper end of my predicted range. 2016+ Rating: 89-91 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Oct 2013)

We still see Daniel Barraud when we visit but today his children Julien and Anaïs are at the helm here now. They have vineyards in Vergisson that are mostly high up under the famous rock (Vergisson lies between the two dramatic cliffs of the rocks of Solutré and Vergisson). The vineyards here are significantly higher than those of Fuissé, and are consequently later-ripening, and the wines often have a more solid structure - but they each have their own distinct characters, from the Puligny-like directness of the La Roche to the fat richness of the 'en Buland', via the mineral force of the Crays.

All the wines are made keeping close to the tenets of bio-dynamics - not for the sake of it - but because over the generations experience has taught them that these principles really are the best way forward - as such they only ever bottle on a waning moon. All the wines see some barrel ageing apart from the Chaintré, which is aged in foudre (2/3) and tank.

As Allen Meadows wrote on www.Burghound.com 'I have said this before, but I will say it again: no one makes better wine in the Mâconnais than Barraud. There are a few domaines that produce wines that are sometimes just as good, ... but none of them surpasses the quality he consistently produces. If you aren’t familiar with the wines, you owe it to yourself and your pocketbook to check them out.'

With the 2022 releases this 11 HA domaine is now officially certified organic. Formalising the way they have been working for years.

The Barrauds have four vineyards that have been upgraded to Premier Cru status: 'En France', 'Les Crays', 'Sur la Roche', and la Verchère, although this last one will change its name to 'La Maréchaude' but retaining the parcel name of Verchère too. It's one of those oddities of such classifications that the vineyard which has consistently produced the Barraud's best wine for all the years that we have known them, 'En Buland', is not classified Premier Cru status as it faces north - this is electric in 2022.

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Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

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BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

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