Meet the Winemaker from Burgundy :: Antoine Vincent of Pouilly Fuissé

If you like flavorful, elegant, dry whites, this Pouilly-Fuissé is the perfect wine for you. This Pouilly-Fuissé is outstanding, exhibiting real terroir coupled with fresh, pure fruit flavors. Made of 100% Chardonnay, 'Marie Antoinette' Pouilly Fuissé is made from grapes grown in several parcels belonging to the Vincent family, and the wine is named after winemaker Antoine Vincent's grandmother, Marie Antoinette Vincent. The soils of the different vineyards impart their own special characteristics into the wine. The stony soils of the Vergisson Vineyards provide the beautiful acidity, elegance and minerality, while the clay soils in the Fuissé vineyard give the wine its full-bodied structure and generous fruit character. The wine is vinified separately in small oak barrels, and then blended to achieve a well-balanced Pouilly Fuissé, combining all the wonderful characteristics of the different 'terroirs'.

The 'Marie Antoinette' is one of the wines under the 'JJ' label, named for Jean-Jacques Vincent, Antoine's father. A New York Times favorite, they called it 'deliciously focused and refreshing...the Marie-Antoinette is weighty yet focused with smoky fruit and mineral flavors. 3 Stars.' 

Château Fuissé’s Téte de Cuvée is a blend of over 20 prime vineyard sites throughout the appellation of Pouilly-Fuissé. Plots in Pouilly, with a high limestone proportion, contribute intense perfume yet more delicacy in the mouth. Those in Fuissé, where clay is more prominent, are less aromatic but fuller, more solid and structured. Vines are an average of 30 years old. Vinification: Each vineyard site is vinified separately until the final blend is chosen following aging. 60% of the wine is aged in oak barrel (25% new) while the remaining 40% is stored in stainless steel to retain its purity of fruit.

RATED 93 DECANTER MAGAZINE : 'Located in the heart of the village of Fuissé itself, on thin clay and marl soils over limestone at the top of the slope. The oldest vines were planted in the 1920s; average age is 60 years old. The wine is aged in cask on the lees and stirred every fortnight. It is a rich style, with a nose that is almost honeyed, showing floral notes and a ripe apple, almost pineapple fruit. The texture is dense and very long; it is a classic of the region and very traditional in style.' Beginning with the 1992 vintage, Château Fuissé started producing a single vineyard bottling from their Le Clos vineyard. This cuvée has become one of Pouilly-Fuissé’s top wines with the stature and aging capacity of the whites of the Côte de Beaune. The Vincent family always considered this special site to be of grand cru quality, and recently it was officially made a premier cru by the appellation controlée. The soils contain dense clay, marl and limestone, and the site has a perfect south/ southeast exposure. The vineyard is planted entirely to Chardonnay vines.  Quantities are limited to under 500 cases a year. Le Clos is extraordinarily rich with layer upon layer of ripe apple, pear, and spice. The finish is driven by minerality with a firm gripping acidity.