Domaine du Bouchot, Pouilly Fume 'Caillottes' 2022

£59.00

‘A wine like this makes me swallow all the rude things I (sometimes) think about Sauvignon Blanc. It's diaphanous. It's like tasting the moon: glowing white, nacreous. Citrus pith and the cold sweet perfume of night flowers. Crisply defined yet the texture of flowing satin. Quiet lines etched like the whorls of a shell. It's like slender, cool fingers tapping Morse code at the top of your spine – urgent, silent, exquisitely precise. And then the finish is a fern-fringed pool of gentle bitterness. It's stunning.’ 17.5/20 Drink 2024 – 2032 (Tamlyn Currin - Jancisrobinson.com)

Winemaker Antoine Gouffier has previously worked with Duncan Savage in South Africa, and there is a whisper of lemon, fresh herb and elderflower which is faintly redolent of Duncan’s wines.  What is clear is that Gouffier is keen to celebrate the purity and essence of his Sauvignon Blanc as opposed to loading them with winemaking artefacts.  Fresh, bright and linear with loads of cleansing, aromatherapeutic notes, this is an effortlessly classy wine with tea-like exoticism and faint hints of barrels.  Gorgeous from tip to toe and a little lighter and brighter than many, this is a sprite-like wine with an overwhelmingly positive aura, and it sings of its famous origins with clarity and conviction.  18.5/20 - Matthew Jukes

‘A wine like this makes me swallow all the rude things I (sometimes) think about Sauvignon Blanc. It's diaphanous. It's like tasting the moon: glowing white, nacreous. Citrus pith and the cold sweet perfume of night flowers. Crisply defined yet the texture of flowing satin. Quiet lines etched like the whorls of a shell. It's like slender, cool fingers tapping Morse code at the top of your spine – urgent, silent, exquisitely precise. And then the finish is a fern-fringed pool of gentle bitterness. It's stunning.’ 17.5/20 Drink 2024 – 2032 (Tamlyn Currin - Jancisrobinson.com)

Winemaker Antoine Gouffier has previously worked with Duncan Savage in South Africa, and there is a whisper of lemon, fresh herb and elderflower which is faintly redolent of Duncan’s wines.  What is clear is that Gouffier is keen to celebrate the purity and essence of his Sauvignon Blanc as opposed to loading them with winemaking artefacts.  Fresh, bright and linear with loads of cleansing, aromatherapeutic notes, this is an effortlessly classy wine with tea-like exoticism and faint hints of barrels.  Gorgeous from tip to toe and a little lighter and brighter than many, this is a sprite-like wine with an overwhelmingly positive aura, and it sings of its famous origins with clarity and conviction.  18.5/20 - Matthew Jukes

Antoine Gouffier is a native of Saint Andelain; from an early age he has been surrounded by vines and vignerons. At the age of 21 he decided to study winemaking, and then embarked on extensive travels. He explored the world for 12 years, stopping for work experience in the USA, New Zealand, Middle East, Argentina and notably in South Africa. As luck would have it, in 2018, he found an advertisement online mentioning his neighbour Domaine du Bouchot was for sale. The owner Pascal Kerbiquet, a local figure who had made a name for himself working organically and with biodynamic farming since 2009, wanted to retire. Antoine soon found in him a new mentor and would work by his side for a full year. The transition happened smoothly. Little by little but with sheer determination Antoine affirmed his style, choosing hand-harvesting in order to pick at the right maturity (a few days earlier than everyone else), fermentation with natural yeasts, and minimal use amount of SO2 (almost none in 2021). He prefers long ageing on the lees in a combination of vessels: 228l, 350 or 500L barriques, concrete eggs, amphorae, foudre and neutral tank, observing and adapting with every single wine and vintage.

Grape variety : 100% Sauvignon blanc Terroir : Limestone composed of thin caillottes Plots : Les Papillons / Les Petits Papillons / Les Chantalouettes / Vaurigny Surface area : 1.68Ha Average age of the vines : 35 – 40 ans Orientation : West South-West Altitude : 190 m Harvest : From mid September Winemaking : without SO2 Fermentation: Indigenous yeasts Ageing : Stainless steel tanks with 4g/L SO2 Fining: yes Filtration : yes Bottling : 3 times per year Day: Fruit or flower Moon: Descending Cellar ageing : 5 to 7 years

 

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