Rating:
92
Robert Parker - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Quarts opens in the glass with a promising bouquet of delicately buttered orchard fruit, honeycomb and blanched almonds that's discretely framed by a deft touch of new oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a tight-knit, concentrated profile and tangy acidity that's not entirely integrated into the wine's structural profile at the time of writing. The raw materials are promising, but a little patience will be required.
Product Description:
"Château des Quarts was created in 2012 through a joint partnership between two old friends, Dominique Lafon and Olivier Merlin.
For over a decade, Olivier had tasked himself with sourcing and making wine from the best sites within Pouilly-Fuissé and bottling them under his own label. After buying grapes from Clos des Quarts for several vintages, he was one of the first approached with the news that it was for sale. Having been already convinced of the terroir's integrity he jumped on the opportunity.
The vineyard is located in Chaintré, the southernmost village of Pouilly-Fuissé. At just over 2 hectares, the oldest vines are almost a century old and are planted on clay-limestone soils. The Clos des Quarts is currently planted to 2.23 hectares of old vines. A further 40 ares can and will be planted. The Clos is located inside the Quarts vineyard where it occupies the upper part of the slope. The ferruginous topsoil is shallow there and the bedrock below it is Bajocian crinoidal limestone, forming a similar terroir to that of Chambertin, Clos de Bèze, as well as parts of Romanée-Saint-Vivant and the Clos de Vougeot. The Clos is a true clos with all but a few meters of its great wall not standing. This is of more than symbolic importance. Topsoil washed downslope by erosion remains trapped at the bottom of the vineyard by the walls. If soil was ever replaced at the top of the Clos, it is more than likely that it has always come from the Clos itself. The Clos faces due east and is planted at a higher density than is habitual in the Mâconnais, 10,000 vines per hectare rather than 6,500 to 8,000." - Distributor