Pouilly Fuisse Haut de la Roche, Verget 2023

The 2023 Pouilly-Fuissé Le Haut de la Roche is excellent, delivering aromas of green orchard fruit, mint, white flowers and oyster shell, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy palate that's bright and chiseled. 2024 - 2034

When the "Sur la Roche" vineyard was awarded Premier Cru status, vines at the top of the Roche de Vergisson were excluded because of their elevation; a decision that Jean-Marie Guffens finds absurd, particularly bearing in mind global warming and the public's thirst for fresher wines with lower alcohol. The resulting wine is cheaper and a little more mineral that the Roche itself. Matured in oak with 25% new barrels. Pale lemon in the glass, the nose blends subtle wood spice, salted lemons, lime and fresh white pear. The palate has a fine backbone of acidity, cool citrus fruit, subtle savoury spices and hints of white stone fruit. This is a driven, focused wine that is more about precision and balance than raw power. As a result, you can drink it today, relishing the waves of vibrant acids and crunchy fruits at the core. Light on its feet but long and intense.