93pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Rich aromas of peach, mirabelle plum, toasted bread, dried citrus peel and hazelnuts, the 2018 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Cras Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Claude Denogent is medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with impressively lively acids and a long, saline finish. This has turned out brilliantly for the vintage.

93pts Jasper Morris

From 90 to 95 year old vines. This wine has been made in a variety of containers including unlined cement tanks, which do a better job with the lees, they think, than cement eggs, and a new 600 litre barrel, whence the wine showed not unexpectedly in a much oakier fashion. Collectively, this is an intense, white fruit wine with good acidity and concomitant tension. It could in fact earn a higher rating after bottling.

92pts Vinous

From vines planted in 1921 the 2018 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Cras Vieilles Vignes has an attractive bouquet with beeswax and dried orange peel dandelion and nettle very complex and well defined. The palate is well balanced with a spicy opening slightly nutty and smoky in style with quite an intense finish. Great length here a Les Cras for the long-term.

91pts Burghound

A subtle but not imperceptible touch of wood sets off mildly exotic aromas that are quite floral in character. There is both excellent volume and a really lovely texture to the finer if slightly less concentrated flavors that flash equally good minerality on the chalky, citrusy and bone-dry finale. Like the Reisses, this youthfully austere effort will need at least a few years to add depth.

Winemaker Notes

We call this one Cuvée Claude; the Roberts call it papi; the vineyard site is actually Les Cras, referring to the white limestone soil. Ancient vines, stunning Chardonnay.