POUILLY FUISSÉ
2022 Pastoral Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
Grapes | Chardonnay |
Colour | White |
Origin | France, Burgundy |
District | Mâconnais |
Village | Pouilly Fuissé |
ABV | 13% |
The 2022 Pouilly-Fuissé Pastoral is a blend of two lieu-dit in Vergisson matured in demi-muids and barrel, then racked into a foudre. This is primal on the nose when I taste the barrel sample, hence challenging to read. The palate is very promising with cooking apple, Anjou pear, orange rind and bitter lemon notes. It shows good weight and is cohesive with a linear, strict finish. This Pouilly-Fuissé will deserve two or three years aging in bottle. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2023)
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*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.
This year the Pastoral is from just two parcels in Vergisson. Each one the complete opposite of the other - and the blend is superb! One parcel planted in 1963 is a warm spot and Frantz harvests much earlier than the other cooler site. He does élevage for the hot site in 600L demi-muids from Stockinger. The cool spot is raised in barrel, then they are blended later. Frantz feels the combination of juice from these two sites is far greater than the sum of its parts. L&S (Nov 2023)
The 2022 Pouilly-Fuissé Pastoral comes from later ripening vines, four parcels, the more precocious parcels raised in demi-muids and the others in barrel. Another exquisite bouquet, wonderful delineation with citrus peel, pear and a touch of praline that blossoms in the glass. The palate is very well balanced, quite saline in the mouth, fine weight and density with hints of almond and a dab of coconut on the finish. This is utterly delicious and will be difficult to resist in its youth. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2024)
The Pastoral Pouilly-Fuissé comes from two plots in Vergisson, early ripening La Folle and En Rontenoux which is later, plus any barrels not selected out of the plots which normally go into Madrigal. Pale lemon, the nose is a bit hidden. Very much the white fruit style, opening out nicely on the palate, excellent length, no great intensity, just a fine sense of balance. Drinking range: 2025 - 2028 Rating: *** Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy (Mar 2024)
Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
Frantz Chagnoleau and his wife Caroline Gon, who was until 2022 also the winemaker at the Comte Lafon Mâcon operation, are rising stars of the Mâconnais. Together they have a small domaine consisting of 3.5 hectares of Mâcon in a single block in Saint Albain, and several small plots in Viré Clessé, Saint Véran and Pouilly Fuissé, making up 6.8 hectares in total. All the vineyards are organically farmed (Ecocert certified).
Great care is taken at harvest to pick at the optimum moment for sugars, acidity and aromatic precursors, and they will stop the picking between parcels if they think that the ripening is not even across the whole domaine. Grapes are manually picked into 25kg cases, so as to get whole, undamaged grapes to the winery. After careful pressing, a very non-interventionist vinification takes place with natural yeasts in oak foudres.
The wines are kept on the lees to preserve freshness until the beginning of summer, when they are racked and lightly filtered, before bottling before the next harvest, except for some of the top wines which are aged for another six months in tank in order to develop fully. The wines are in a style which is bright and incisive, expressive and pure - and well worth seeking out.
Macon Villages Le Clos Saint Pancras : 3.55 ha
These vines were planted in 2000. Frantz uses a little bit of new wood - 10%. Élevage in demi-muids. This is the most northerly plot he works and it is high (350m) - facing east and made up of mineral, stony soil.
Viré Clessé Les Raspillères : 0.73 ha
Planted in 2005. A 30% slope and poor soil, thin at the top. Originally planted with Gamay, it was abandoned after phylloxera, then brought back from being scrubland by a forester who was passionate about wine and who realised it had once been a vineyard.
St Véran Prélude : 2.3 ha
Poor, calcareous soils. 15% new wood in demi-muids (500l barrels). 45 year old vines in several plots - the earliest ripening.
St Véran la Roche : 0.42 ha
70 year old vines at 200m in Chasselas, on marl, in mid-slope. Some is aged in demi-muids, but mostly it's in barrel with 10% new wood.
St Véran à La Côte : 0.25 ha
The highest vineyard of the domaine at 400m, on red earth, in Chasselas. Aged in demi-muids with no new wood.
St Véran La Fournaise : 0.21ha
All aged in demi-muids with no new wood. The whitest and most mineral soil they have.
Pouilly Fuissé Pastoral : 0.45 ha
Pouilly Fuissé Madrigal : 0.25 ha
From Vergisson, (mostly 'en Carmentrant') and all aged in barrel, but no new wood even if some are recent.
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