Placeholder Image

Domaine du Chalet Pouilly, Mâcon-Solutré

Burgundy, France 2017 (750mL)
$24.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Domaine du Chalet Pouilly, Mâcon-Solutré

If you aren’t yet familiar with Burgundy’s roche (“rock”) of Solutré, it’s certainly not for a lack of trying on our part: Today’s wine is one of several whites we’ve offered from this Mâconnais landmark—a hulking limestone escarpment that looms over the village of Solutré-Pouilly, just a few kilometers south of its near-twin, the Roche de Vergisson.
Having toured the vineyards that cling to both rocks, I can attest to both the drama of the landscape and the unbelievable value-for-dollar of the wines. Today’s 2017 from Domaine du Chalet Pouilly is another reason to be excited about the wines (especially whites) of the Mâcon: I can think of few wine regions where overall quality has risen so dramatically without a corresponding jump in prices. Looking for a white Burgundy with real character you can serve at a larger-scale gathering? Is your ‘daily drinker’ supply running low? When I tasted this lively, perfectly textured, deeply mineral ’17 I thought about my restaurant days, and what an impressive by-the-glass wine this would make. It combines the Mâcon’s trademark soft, ripe fruit with a firm underpinning of minerality imparted by “the rock.” It’s a high-impact wine for a low-impact price—a by-the-case purchase waiting to happen for anyone who appreciates real-deal white Burgundy.
While it may be gratuitous at this point, let’s revisit La Roche de Solutré and its surrounding vineyards: What you see jutting from the earth was once under the sea—a “fossilized coral plateau” like its neighbor in Vergisson. Soils in the vineyards are rich in the same fossils found further north in Chablis, and the exposures afforded by altitude ensure full ripening of the grapes. In addition to the Mâcon-Solutré-Pouilly AOC appellation, under which today’s wine falls, some vineyards under the rock qualify for the better-known Pouilly-Fuissé designation—arguably the Mâcon’s most prestigious.

Domaine du Chalet Pouilly (named not only for its home village but the chalet-like look of its clapboard winery) has been in the same family since 1850. Based in the hamlet of Pouilly and run today by Marie-Eve Léger (along with her parents, Agnès and Bernard), the small estate includes 8.5 hectares of vineyards in the Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran, and Mâcon-Solutré appellations. The Solutré vineyard measures less than half a hectare in size, and was acquired in 2009, making this the family’s smallest-production bottling. They describe their farming as “sustainable,” with some plots grown according to organic principles.

Today’s 2017 was fermented and aged in tank only, and while it lacks nothing in terms of concentration, it also displays invigorating freshness on the palate. This is textbook Burgundy Chardonnay, at once layered and lively, with a bright yellow-gold hue and a nose of yellow apple, white peach, pear, white flowers, white button mushroom, wet stone, and a hint of oyster-shell salinity. Medium-plus in body and accessible now, it blossoms quickly once opened and delivers an immense amount of pleasure right out of the gate, without feeling the least bit fat—I’ve noticed many Mâconnais whites sliding into “buttery” territory, which I do not like, but I’ll take this combination of creamy, textured, and citrusy any day. Decanting is optional, but pull the cork at least 15-20 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 50 degrees. Enjoy it regularly over the next few years with lemony chicken preparation or richer white-fleshed fish. It might well become a workhorse in your rotation, and a very classy workhorse at that. Find some space of a case—you’ll be reaching for it often!
Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceMâcon-Solutré
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
None
TEMP.
50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2022
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Chicken Piccata

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

Others We Love