La Soufrandière Pouilly-Vinzelles 2016

If you're wondering why you may not have heard much about Pouilly-Vinzelles, consider this - while the neighbouring Pouilly-Fuissé has 750-hectares under vine, the tiny Pouilly-Vinzelles AOC has a meagre 50-hectares! This is why we see so little of it and why there is so little noise around it. Nonetheless it is a wonderful terroir. The rocky slopes and cooler microclimate here result in wines with more structural definition than you typically find in the wines of Fuissé. But we are generalising as always. Here we have a wine that is grown in one of the Mâcon's very best sites, Les Quarts is sectioned up into four lieux-dits (or historic place names): Haut, Bas, Clocheton and Les Quarts Touches. Although it varies, in 2016, this cuvée mostly comes from the younger vines of the Clocheton parcel. It was picked on 28th and 29th August, was vinified in both steel tank (70%) and the balance in old barrels. The Domaine uses only used oak by the way, with an average age of 10-12 years. As well as ex-Laflaive and Lafon barrels, they are also buying used 300-litre casks from Olivier Lamy. This is a pretty, juicy, tangy, again beautifully fresh white Burg, with vivid purity of jasmine, apple and nectarine fruit and some subtle spice as well. There's a fabulous, mouth-watering balance between texture and tension, and the finish is crystalline and super refreshing. A truly pretty and mineral Vinzelles.