2011 Château Fuissé Pouilly Fuissé Les Clos

The 2011 Chateau-Fuisse Le Clos lies up the incline from the chateau: clay soils at the bottom for the power, marl for the complexity, and spice and limestone for the finesse at the top of the clos. They make four difference cuvees depending upon age of the vines and location on the slope. The 2011 is a blend of the clay and limestone parcel matured in one- or two-year-old barrels. It has a beautiful bouquet with kaleidoscopic scents of orange zest, mint, licorice and Devonshire fudge all with stunning delineation. The palate is extremely well-balanced with a sharp, verging on shrill entry that fans out with hints of orange zest, dried apricot, spice and sour lemon. It is long and very complex. This is top-drawer Pouilly-Fuisse. I last visited Chateau de Fuisse in the late 1990s when my former employers were agents for Chateau de Fuisse in Japan. I vividly recall the exceptional quality of one of the most esteemed producers in Pouilly-Fuisse and I have endeavored to keep track of recent vintages ever since. The estate is steeped in history, though when the original Chateau was built in the 15th century, they found the water table too high for a proper cellar, which is why there are not typical vaulted brick arches beneath the main building. The Vincent family has presided over the estate for decades and it was Antoine, who joined the domaine in 2003, who escorted me around the vineyard (see video) and through a selection of wines. If you really want to taste what Pouilly-Fuisse is capable of then look no further than this address. We commenced with a look at their 2011s. Antoine explained that the vintage produced wines that were lower in alcohol (0.5 degrees less than 2010), lower in sugar but also lower in acidity, so that everything was kept in equilibrium. Importer: Frederick Wildman and Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700 and OW Loeb (UK).