2011 Pouilly-Vinzelles, Climat Les Quarts, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

2011 Pouilly-Vinzelles, Climat Les Quarts, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

Product: 20111080519
 
2011 Pouilly-Vinzelles, Climat Les Quarts, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy

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Description

If a Premier Cru programme is established in the region, Les Quarts must surely be a prime candidate for its status. Dense and backward yet with a sense of great class, this has greengage, yellow plum fruit and fine balance. It is a brilliant wine to fall in love with, with no sense of oak anywhere. Long and powerful but balanced, this has a wonderful finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director The new underground cellar extension was completed in time for the 2011 vintage, to the relief of brothers Jean-Philippe, Jean-Guillaume and Marc-Antoine Bret who appreciated the space to work. The 2011 vintage combines both quality and quantity: the Brets describe it as “early, ripe and balanced”. The wines from their own property, Domaine de la Soufrandière, are certified biodynamic. Everything is fermented and matured in barrel but with no new wood.


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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate93/100
The 2011 Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts comes from 40- to 80-year-old vines on one of the finest terroirs in the appellation. It has a complex, quite earthy bouquet with dewy green apple, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that are all beautifully delineated. The palate is powerful on the entry with honeyed fruit, touches of dried apricot and spice segueing into a long, honeyed finish that lingers in the mouth. Superb, but it deserves a couple of years in bottle to show what it can do. Drink 2014-2019.
Neal Martin - 29/08/2013 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Solid and dense and with a dry mineral finish and fabulous definition. Nothing to do with the Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Quarts acquired by Lafon and Merlin. Really exciting wine.
Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - Jan 2013 Read more

About this WINE

Bret Bros.

Bret Bros.

Grandfather Bret bought this property in Vinzelles in 1947. In 2000 Jean-Philippe and Jean-Guillaume Bret took their vineyards out of the local co-operative and established their Domaine de la Soufrandière (see here for the wine selection from la Soufrandière) with 4 hectares of vines entirely in the appellation of Pouilly Vinzelles. They have also developed a negociant activity using the name Bret Brothers.

Previous experience between them includes stages at Ridge and Newton in California and Comte Lafon in Burgundy. Most of their vines are in a perfectly situated east facing slope of Vinzelles called Les Quarts, on Bajocian limestone with a high silica/quartz content.

The vineyards have been farmed organically since 2000, with biodynamic principles being progressively introduced. The grapes, both their own and those purchased, are picked in small containers, then whole bunch pressed in the tinailler (local Maconnais and Beaujolais word for cuverie) before descending by gravity to the barrel cellar. They are currently all taken out of barrel for bottling after 11 months.

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Pouilly Vinzelles

Pouilly Vinzelles


Pouilly-Vinzelles is a small appellation in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy, situated next to the famous Pouilly-Fuissé appellation, and the Pouilly-Loché area, which is often regarded as a sub-region of Pouilly-Vinzelles itself.
 
As with Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles shares the name with the famous town of Pouilly, and as such the two appellations benefit from the association with the established name of Pouilly-Fuissé. Pouilly-Vinzelles concerns itself entirely with the production of white wine from Chardonnay, resulting in a very typical but high-quality Burgundian white, with notes of fruit and slight minerality, much like the whites of its immediate neighbours.

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Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.

Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.

Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.

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