Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
For this little-known appellation in the Maconnais section of Burgundy, this is an expertly crafted chardonnay, in which creaminess, elegant acidity and crushed-stone minerality are beautifully balanced. Sleek, but by no means lean. I love the bright nose of candied lemon, jasmine and wild herbs. Long, clean finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Vinified entirely in 600-liter barrels, the 2020 Pouilly-Loché Les Mûres reveals aromas of freshly baked bread, orange oil, white flowers and almond paste. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with racy acids and chalky structure, it has turned out very well.
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.
A center of viticulture since Roman times, Pouilly-Loché sits east of Pouilly-Fuissé in front of a beautiful backdrop of the hills of Solutré and Vergisson. Attesting to the continuous vitality of viticulture in Pouilly-Loché, many of its cellars date back to the 17th century.
Within Pouilly-Loché, which is also part of Pouilly-Vinzelles, the wines of each of its many lieux-dits (small vineyard areas) claim distinct personalities because of extreme soil variations within this small area. In its northern end, soils are older schists and sandstones, which retain heat. In the south, towards Vinzelles, Pouilly-Loché claims cooler, iron-rich, clay-limestone soils resembling those of the rest of Vinzelles to the south.
Within the variations, a great Pouilly-Loché (always made of Chardonnay) often has characteristics reminiscent of honey, acacia, apricot and grapefruit; with age these will veer towards pear, quince, dried fruit, hazelnut and ginger. These pair perfectly with roasted or tandoori chicken, guinea fowl and olives or fresh water fish dishes.