The 2019 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Combes Vieilles Vignes has turned out very well, offering up aromas of honeyed orchard fruit, fresh apricot and peach, framed by a deft application of toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and muscular, it's deep and concentrated, with a layered core of fruit, ripe but racy acids, and a long, penetrating finish.
Old vines from 1917, 1937 and 1953 in the hamlet of Pouilly, unfortunately frost damaged in 2019. Paler in colour, but richer on the nose, with an impressive depth of flavour. There is significant weight here, a little bit of heat, slightly saline wood to finish. Not quite as in place as Sur La Roche, but very promising. Tasted: 7/1/2020
Thanks to an exposure that is both to the South and North, this wine has very good balance in 2019. The proportion of grapes exposed to the South is 70 % and 30 % are exposed to the North. The vines in this vineyard are over 70 years old on average. The harvested grapes are limited in number and with small size. Associated with a rather clay soil, the richness and power are always present. The free run juice was vinified in barrels with 25% new oak. Fermentation continued until mid-December, followed by barrel ageing for about 8 months. Pale lemon in colour with an explosive nose that has real depth. Ripe citrus peel gives way to poached pear and fleshy peaches. There is spice from oak too, but it is savoury and creamy, adding to an enticing aromatic profile. The palate has great depth and structure, a chalky density gives real mineral backbone to support the intense and ripe fruit core. This in turn is built on with creamy breadth from the lees and oak. Lip-smacking density unfurls through to a long and driven finish. This is an outstanding Combes in 2019.