Domaine Valette Pouilly-Fuissé Tradition

Gerard Valette founded Domaine Valette in 1977 at Chaintre, in the far south of the Maconnais near the Beaujolais border, and was among the first there to leave the cooperative and bottle his own wine. The estate is known for a distinctive natural style, aged in long contact with the lees and without racking. Pouilly-Fuisse is the leading white appellation of the Maconnais, where Chardonnay grows on limestone and clay soils that give richness balanced by minerality. This bottling is farmed organically and biodynamically and made with minimal intervention. The wine spends twenty-four months in used French oak barrels, an unusually long ageing that, together with the extended lees contact, builds a creamy texture and a savoury, nutty depth. Because the barrels are old, they add oxygen and texture rather than woody flavour, while malolactic fermentation rounds the acidity into a buttery softness. The colour is full gold. The nose shows ripe apple, pear and hazelnut over a light honeyed note, and the palate is creamy and broad, moderately aromatic and long, with a savoury finish. Serve at 12 to 14 degrees.