Giroux Pouilly-Fuissé 1er “Vignes Blanches” 2022

Sebastien Giroux is a quiet and meticulous winemaker making superb wines of understatement and precision. If some Maconnais whites can verge into overripeness in warm years, Sebastien’s are entirely devoid of heaviness. His careful winemaking – low sulfur, minimal oak, extremely long elevage – results in minimalist wines of precision and grace. Think Thomas Morey Puligny an hour south.

Sebastien crafts this magnificent cuvée from a tiny ⅕ hectare plot . The nose is deep and floral with notes of magnolia and gardenia; the mouth is extremely long, with a vigorous attack of rich fleshy fruit and a long, clean, finely channeled finish. We’d put this in a prize fight against lots of far fancier wine from the Côte de Beaune. There’s not much of it, but it’s simply beautiful stuff.