Pouilly-Fuissé is getting well-deserved respect in the wine world these days, and beginning with the 2020 vintage some vineyards are entitled to the “premier cru” designation. A growing distaste for excess wood and a reluctance to add more softness to already ripe wines makes it rare to find overoaked Pouilly-Fuissé these days: the days of by-the-glass buttered popcorn are over.
This spring we discovered Sebastien Giroux, a small-scale winemaker with 6 hectares of vines in and around Fuissé. The wines are very much handmade, with elevage carefully calibrated according to vineyard and vintage. We were drawn to the domaine by praise from William Kelley, who described the wines as “supple, pure, and charming.” He was entirely correct.
After a summer of anticipation, the Giroux wines at last arrived in our warehouse last week. We were prepared to have our months-old expectations let down, but in fact the opposite occurred – all three Giroux wines are better than we remember.
We’ll tell you more about Giroux Macon-Fuissé and old-vine Pouilly-Fuissé a bit later, but today we’re focusing on the 2019 Pouilly-Fuissé Radillons. This cuvée comes from limestone soils situated over marl (causing the vines to suffer a bit, according to Sebastien). The wine spent about six months in barrels, followed by six months en cuve.
This is modern, expressive, gorgeous white Burgundy. The nose is a prototypical Maconnais: golden fruits, a whisper of oak, and a pleasant stony freshness. The mouth is rich, mouthfilling and smooth, with a dollop of sucrocité on the attack, and a clean, focused, energetic finish. Kelley praised this wine as “rich and layered,” “[u]nwinding in the glass with notes of pear and white flowers” and gave 90-92 points. There is a terrific mix of fruit and minerals here, offered in a racy style – thick texture but with excellent focus.
You could argue we don’t need another white Burgundy address in our portfolio…but you haven’t tried these wines.
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Giroux Pouilly-Fuissé “Radillons” 2019
bottle price: $35
