Domaine Bruno Blondelet Pouilly Fumé 2023

Description

Bruno Blondelet Pouilly Fumé 2023 is a lovely, complex white wine from the Loire Valley. Pouilly Fumé is like Sancerre but usually better value as it is not quite as well-known. This Bruno Blondelet Pouilly Fumé 2023 is, like a good Sancerre, a pretty, elegant Sauvignon Blanc with the classic gooseberry and green apple aromas and flavours that you would expect. But there is more including hints of pineapple, lime, tangerines and nectarines and a touch of flintiness, a little like wet stones. There is a very light creaminess to the wine veering towards a medium body but the wine is essentially light and refreshingly crisp as you would expect – and on re-tasting it I was impressed with the really long, tasty finish. Superb!

Bruno Blondelet is from a family of Pouilly Fumé producers; his family have been producing wine in the Loire Valley for 3 generations. Now son-in-law, Florian Fargeau has joined the domaine and is taking things forward. The winery is in the process of changing its name to Domaine Blondelet-Fargeau. Therefore Bruno Blondelet Pouilly Fumé 2023 is also known as Blondelet-Fargeau Pouilly Fumé 2023.

The family has a number of small vineyards (totalling 12 hectares); they make separate Sauvignon Blanc wines from each of their vineyards and then blend them into this classic Pouilly Fumé.  They are keen to create an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc expressive of the grape and of the prized flinty soils of the Pouilly Fumé region and so this wine is unoaked. It’s a relatively cool region so the alcohol level of this wine is a gentle 13% ABV. Lutte raisonnée or sustainable farming is practised.

Note: to avoid confusion Pouilly Fumé is Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire whilst Pouilly Fuissé is Chardonnay from Burgundy. Both classy French wines but quite different. Pouilly Fumé is a classic expression of Sauvignon Blanc, similar to the other prestigious Sauvignon Blanc appellation, Sancerre, but a little more minerally; it is complex with a light creamy texture, yet refreshingly crisp. If you would like to try a Sancerre, you can do no better than Florian Mollet’s Sancerre ‘Tradition’.