Domaine J.A. Ferret, Pouilly-Fuissé, Burgundy, France, 2022

Overview of the Wine
Located in the heart of the Maconnais in the little village of Fuissé, Domaine J.A. Ferret has been exploring the richness of Pouilly-Fuissé's best terroirs since 1840. 

Thanks to its long story within the appellation, the domaine never stopped raising the profile of the great Chardonnay-based wines from the South of Burgundy, in France and overseas.

Grape / Blend
Chardonnay

Origin
Burgundy, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Planted between 2019 and 1947, a little more than 70 years separate the youngest vines from the oldest. The average age is 40 years. You might like to know that one of the oldest plots used in this cuvée (Les Vernays, planted in 1955) is the source of the massal selection made by the domaine. Within this one cuvée you can find a snapshot of Pouilly-Fuissé's geological complexity. In Fuissé, a third of the vines are grown on west-facing granit soil - a mixture of schists, volcanic sedimentary sands and rhyolitic tuff - the remainder, wich face east, are mostly planted on limestone and Jurassic marls, but there are also some deposits of clay.

Having said that, we present this vintage, picked at optimal ripeness, in a spirit of joy and hope. Joy because its flavours, its charm and its balance have hit just the right notes in a very heterogenous vintage; with confidence because yields, although far from generous, have surpassed the expectations set by the very short harvest of 2021, but equally full of hope as we have successfully introduced a suite of viticultural techniques that point us in a new, more virtuous direction.

This emblematic wine reflects all the diversity of Fuissé's terroir combining the roundness from clay, the delicacy from granitic soil, and the saltiness from limestone. Notes of citrus and fresh almond match perfectly with the richness of this solar vintage.

Pairs well with shellfish and molluscs, seafood risotto, grilled or pan-fried fish, veal cutlets with creamy sauces, goat's cheeses and hard cow's milk cheeses.

94 Points - Tim Atkin
Pretty floral scents are laced with marked mineral top notes. The palate is nicely compact with notable mid-palate concentration. Salted apple slices mix with fresh hay and warm, fresh flowers. Charming to the hilt! Drink: 2024-2030

93 Points - Burghound
Note: from Fuissé fruit. Moderately generous wood stops short of fighting with the ripe aromas of citrus confit, spiced pear and a suggestion of exotic fruit in the form of white peach. There is again a lovely sense of minerality to the beautifully delineated medium-bodied flavors that conclude in a clean, dry and youthfully austere finish. This balanced and refined effort is already nicely complex and a wine that should be approachable young but have no problem aging well over the mid-term.

92 Points - Jasper Morris
Mid lemon yellow, with a more reductive nose. Very chiselled, quite punchy, showing the extra half degree here above the first three wines. Being higher on the hill than Clos de Jeanne gives more limestone and so less flesh and more compact but concentrated fruit. A crunchy but powerful finish. 13.5% alcohol. Drink from 2027-2035.

92 Points - Vinous
The 2022 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Perrières 1er Cru contains less clay and more limestone than the Clos de Jeanne that lies just a few meters below. This bouquet shows beautiful yellow fruit, walnut and light vanilla scents. It's well-defined and has more complexity than the Clos des Prouges. The palate is taut and fresh, quite lively and tensile. There's a pleasing steeliness here with a twist of sour lemon on the finish. Plenty of energy is bound up in this wine. Superb.

Product size: 750ml