Region
Mâconnais
Appellation
Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru
Grape variety
Chardonnay
Situation
Located at the exit of the village of Fuissé, behind the Mont Pouilly in the middle of the slope, this vineyard covers 80 ares and is East oriented.
Age of the vines
The vineyard has been renewed three times from 1974 to 1999. The second time was in 1989, 200 years anniversary of the French revolution.
Soil
The soil, which is derived from alluvial deposits, consists of a mix of deep silt and clay containing few stones. The subsoil features streaks of limestone and limestone marls, while the top layers are rich in stone-free limestone deposits derived from the light marls of the Dogger bank.
Vinification
Fermentations and ageing take place in casks of which 25% of cask new, 75% of cask from 1 to 3 wines for 10 months. The ageing continued in stainless steel tanks, always with all their lees for another 7 months. Bottled on a beautiful winter morning, February 2, 2021.
Tasting
With a well-anchored Mâconnaise footprint, and a dense material, the Ménétrières are a perfect Fuisséenne illustration as Jeanne Ferret understood it. After a light aeration, stand out lemon and bergamot notes. The woody and mineral precision respond harmoniously.
Food pairing
Thanks to its richness and its great balance, 'Les Ménétrières' deserves to be paired with the most refined dishes, such as sole Meunière, a foie gras terrine,
grilled lobster, sea bass, chicken with porcini mushrooms and also with washed rind cheeses like Vacherin Mont d'Or, creamy St Marcellins or tangy goat's cheeses like a Sainte-Maure.
Vintage
The mild conditions that prevailed throughout January
and temperatures that reached more than 20°C by
mid-February were the earliest hints that this was going
to be an unusually challenging vintage. No one mastered
nature's trials in 2019. And, unlike the prevailing conditions
in 2018, water reserves at the end of winter were already
low, so there was already a noticeable water deficit by the
time the vegetative growth kicked off.
The somewhat scary mildness of winter was followed by
a painfully cold spring. In April frost ravaged some of the
budding vines at the heart of the village of Fuissé. Luckily,
however, the vines planted on the slopes were spared.
As in April, the temperatures in May were below the
seasonal norms. Any precocity shown by the vines as a
result of winter's gentleness melted away like a snowdrift
on a sunny day. By the end of May, we were looking at
some 13 days of delay relative to the previous year.
At the start of June the first flowers brought great
promise. The number of incipient bunches seemed
almost abundant... But our hopes were dashed by
poor fruit set, in Fuissé at least. Harsh winds gusted
across the amphitheatre of vines, reducing some of the
promised generosity, then the bunches had to survive an
unprecedented early heatwave. But all was not lost. June
also saw some rainfall that was more abundant than the
average for the decade. This gave us a glimmer of hope.
There were no surprises in store for us in July - it's warm,
dry conditions were pretty much in line with current
norms. We had no need to fear the development of
downy mildew this year, although powdery mildew was
pretty aggressive.
Amazingly, veraison rolled out fairly homogenously
around 5 August. Several rainy episodes brought us
both water and hope. Towards the end of August, the
bunches in the Tournant de Pouilly weighed less than 50
grams. Skins were still very hard. We waited. We waited
for ripening to proceed, we waited for the skins to soften,
we waited for the grapes to reveal their flavours.
Despite the quasi-Mediterranean conditions, we began
picking on 10 September, scarcely earlier than in the Côte
d'Or, or even Chablis.
We struggled to fill the picking bins, even though
we continued to cut. The musts were both pure and
concentrated, with elevated sugar levels and unexpectedly
high acidity.
On 23 September, the winery doors closed on our modest
harvest.