Dear Friends of Good Wine,
Recently Mary poured me a glass of an estate-bottled Pouilly Fuisse which was so wonderful that I had to re-taste it to make sure that I had not made an error in judgment. Fortunately I had not. I am sure that you all know that 'Pouilly Fuisse' had become one of the most over-consumed and over-produced wines from France in the 1970s and 80s and 90s. Standards were lowered and most of the PFs offered were little better than a Macon Villages. Blessedly, a dozen or so growers
would have nothing to do with this dumbing down of what is after all the best vineyard region within the Macon.
One of those producers is Marie-Pierre Manciat, whose 17-acre estate is located in one of the very best parts of Pouilly Fuisse, the tiny town of Chaintre. Ms. Manciat treats her Chardonnay grapes in the same way as the growers in Meursault and Puligny do: slow fermentation in small oak barrels (but very little new oak), occasional stirring of the lees (the lovely French word for this stirring of the pot is 'batonnage'), bottling only when ready. And it shows. Served blind I would have a hard time resisting the idea that this is a Cote de Beaune Premier Cru with the added note of sunny ripeness. All the flavors and textures we like in white Burgundy are present: white pepper, peach and apple scents interlaced with smoke, toasted brioche and grilled nuts and citrus overtones to balance the richness, and a palate-penetrating density of texture.
Some of the current Pouilly Fuisse growers have succumbed to the tendency to bottle very high-alcohol, rather clumsy--if tasty--wines. Not here. Marie-Pierre’s wines retain their acidity so that all those pleasing nuances are preserved. If I had tasted this gorgeous wine blind and was asked to guess the retail price, I would have said at least $40. And at $40 the wine would not be overpriced. When I saw the price, I had to blink. How does $24 for a superb white Burgundy sound? Almost too good to be true! At this price you can afford a case. You will not get bored with the wine. Drink it once a month for a year--if you can stop yourself from drinking up the case by the end of summer.
Bob Millman
2009 Pouilly Fuisse Les Petites Bruyeres Domaine Marie-Pierre Manciat $23.85
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