DOMAINE BOUCHIÉ-CHATELLIER POUILLY-FUMÉ PREMIER MILLÉSIMÉ

Tasting notes:

Ripe, herbaceous aromas, nettle and dill, balanced by concentrated green fruit and crisp citrus acidity. It has a lovely chalky texture on the palate.  

About the wine:

The top cuvée from Bouchié-Chatellier sourced from selected grapes grown on an outcrop of silex soil

Made from selected parcels of old-vine grapes, their better exposure to sunlight gives this wine greater concentration and complexity. Soils are of shell-rich, flinty clay from the Kimmeridgian period, located on the Saint-Andelain hill, overlooking the Loire. The Bouchié family was the first to plant vines on the hill of Saint-Andelain, seeing the potential of its soil, and the vineyards back onto those of Didier Daguenau. The grapes were gravity fed into the progressive pneumatic press. There was static must settling, skin maceration and thermo-regulated fermentation in stainless steel for 3 weeks to preserve aromatics and fruit expression. Selected tanks were kept on their fine lees after blending.  

About the producer:

Robert Poirier established the La Renardière domaine close to a small wood with a healthy population of foxes ('renardière' translates as foxhole). He was a pioneer with a passion for modernism; he cleared the hillsides, planted vines in the Kimmeridgian marl, introduced new pruning methods, and won the estate’s first medals. A firm believer in the potential of Pouilly-Fumé, he expanded the estate over the years and even opened a wine bar named "Au Pouilly" in Nevers.

Eugene Bouchie bought a vineyard from the neighbouring château, on the same Saint Andelain hill as La Renardière, where the soils are composed of flinty clay and limestone. In the early 1900s, the marriage of the children of these two producers created the domaine as it stands today and it is the blending of the two terroirs which gives the La Renardière cuvées their complexity.  

The estate undertakes disease and pest control measures by maintaining natural balance ("lutte raisonnée") and works the soil in a traditional way. They are HVE accredited.  

Food match:

This wine has real depth of flavour with herbal notes and freshness will be a wonderful accompaniment to salmon served with a light cream and dill sauce. The flinty notes of the wine will also make grilled seafood a perfect pairing.

This wine is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.