2014 Pouilly Fuisse 35e Vendange

The 2014 Pouilly-Fuissé 35ème Vendange has a prettier nose with wild peaches, lemon curd and a dab of lemongrass, again, beautifully defined and focused. The palate has a welcome bitter edge, quite linear and saline, with perhaps just a little brevity on the finish compared to some of “the magician’s” other cuvées. Still, it deepens with aeration and gains complexity from the ether over the course of 30 minutes.

(a celebration of the estate's 35th vintage; from more north-facing vines in Petit Croux, a site that features less chalk but very rocky soil; these vines were picked very late and the wine was made in one new and one used barrique ): Bright yellow. Very ripe lemon peel aroma shows an almost iodiney mineral pungency. Highly concentrated and strikingly tactile, with its citrus fruit and white peach flavors complemented by salty minerality. Presently harder to taste than the Tri des Hauts des Vignes, which shows more juiciness and precision today, but this wine is amazingly chewy and long. It will require--and reward--patience.

(a sélection parcellaire made from Les Croux and Petits Croux under the rock of Vergisson; the fruit was picked late but without surmaturité ; 30% new oak; this was still in wood, on its lees, after the racking): Bright yellow. Knockout nose combines lemon zest, white peach, flowers and licorice. Juicy, penetrating and light on its feet, with seriously dense, concentrated lemon and saline flavors nicely buffered by the wine's brisk citrussy acidity. Finishes very pure and long, with a late licorice note. The yield here was reportedly only around 20 hectoliters per hectare. This very serious, palate-staining wine is still a baby and should enjoy a long life in bottle. Great material here; this reminded me of a red wine in its structure. Guffens describes these very stony parcels as "probably my best vineyards--and certainly the lowest yields."