2011 Domaine Soufrandiere Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts

The 2011 Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts comes from 40- to 80-year-old vines on one of the finest terroirs in the appellation. It has a complex, quite earthy bouquet with dewy green apple, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that are all beautifully delineated. The palate is powerful on the entry with honeyed fruit, touches of dried apricot and spice segueing into a long, honeyed finish that lingers in the mouth. Superb, but it deserves a couple of years in bottle to show what it can do. Drink 2014-2019. La Soufrandiere is the estate owned by the Bret brothers (see separate for background information). Located in Vinzelles, they own 4.5 hectares in Pouilly-Vinzelles plus one hectare in Macon-Vinzelles including some old vine Chardonnay, as well as three hectares of Gamay over the border in Beaujolais. The vines are all certified biodynamic and a quick foray into the vineyard was all I needed to see the Jean-Philippe Bret treats each vine like his own child! Needless to stay, they are generally outstanding expressions of Maconnais wine. I would draw readers’ attention to the stellar Pouilly-Vinzelles “Les Quarts” that might represent the apotheosis of the region. Perhaps the only disappointment was their experimental botrytis-affected wines, the “X-Taste,” but I am sure les freres Bret will get that right soon. Importer: Becky Wasserman, Verity (NY) and also Berry Brothers & Rudd (UK)