Tasting Notes

Deep golden yellow, bright and clear. Nose of quince, of stewed stone fruits (peach, apricot), well present minerality. Round, ample, on aromas of fresh butter, sweet spices (vanilla, cardamon). Long, slightly oaky finish.

About the Wine

Next to the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation is the considerably smaller Pouilly-Vinzelles. While the former covers 761 hectares, the latter just covers 43 hectares and Sophie Cinier’s holdings there are tiny. The parcel that produces her Pouilly-Vinzelles, Les Longeays is just 0.13 ha.

– In a good year we make between 600 and 700 bottles, says Sophie Cinier. The vines were planted in 1905. Obviously not all vines have survived over the years. Some have been replanted. The parcel is mid-slope, facing east. There is clay and some limestone. The soil is very deep, more than two metres. The elevage is 18 to 24 months in barrels and I use between 15 and 20 per cent of new oak.

Winery Notes

Sophie Cinier took over the small family estate around Fuissé in the early 2000s (2000). Sophie's family has long-standing ties to the local vineyard: her grandfather's vines (planted in 1941) came back under her control in 1998, allowing her to put the estate back into operation.

Initially, Sophie sold her grapes to merchants, but from 2005 onwards, she began to vinify her first vintages herself (approximately 1,200 bottles). The first winemaking processes took place in the family winery, before gradually building their own facilities. The estate has since increased its surface area and its acquisition of plots, while maintaining an emphasis on quality, plot expression, and manual viticulture.

The estate is located in Fuissé, in the Mâconnais region (Burgundy). The dominant soils are calcareous, stony, with very white (limestone) plateaus particularly in the locality of Vers Crâs where very renowned old vines are located. The exposure is favorable, and the altitude varies according to the plots; local conditions (wind, coolness) are important for ripeness and aromatic tension.

Sophie also buys grapes or must (especially for certain appellations that she does not have in her own vineyard, for example Saint-Véran). 

The style they advocate is that of pure, taut, elegant, terroir-driven white wines with the potential to age. Sophie asserts that Pouilly-Fuissé benefits from aging if the winemaking allows it. She seeks to avoid excessive interventions: no stirring, control of lees, moderate use of new wood.

The estate combines vineyard ownership and trading (purchasing grapes or must to complete the range).