Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A firm, closed wine at this young stage, it has weight and a sense of rich fruit flavors. Coming from a limestone vineyard, it wears its minerality on its sleeve, a steely, structured wine, aged in wood, that needs several years to show its best. Give it five years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Chateau-Fuisse Les Combettes has a tightly coiled, slightly earthier bouquet compared to the other cuvees. Eschewing new oak, the fruit is allowed to blossom with subtle honeysuckle notes emerging with time. The palate is very well-balanced with hints of quince and dried apricot. This is very elegant and poised with an approachable, generous finish that is as fresh as a daisy.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The source of some of the most sought-after white wines of the Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé is produced exclusively from the Chardonnay grape and tends to be slightly richer in style than wines from its northern neighbor, the Côte de Beaune—mainly due to warmer weather. Wines from Pouilly-Fuissé have some versatility; they can be enjoyed young and can also often improve with a little time in the cellar. Pouilly-Fuissé wines are considered some of the best values for white Burgundy.
Similar to the Côte de Beaune, the soils of Pouilly-Fuissé are mainly limestone and clay. The appellation includes the communes of Fuissé, Solutré (which includes Pouilly), Vergisson and Chaintré. The richest Chardonnay comes from Fuissé and Solutré-Pouilly, whereas the Chardonnay at higher elevation, from Vergisson, expresses more minerality and finesse. Pairing Pouilly-Fuissé with lobster or King Crab will bring great joy not only to your palate—but also your pocketbook!