"Domaine J.A. Ferret Pouilly Fuisse ' Le clos"" Tete de Cru 2016"

Description

Domaine Ferret is located in the Maconnais district of Burgundy. The 18 hectares (45 acres) of estate-owned vineyards are entirely contained within the boundaries of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation and are planted across the region's full range of terroirs. The portfolio is predominantly focused on single-vineyard and single-parcel wines made from Chardonnay.
The domaine dates back to 1840 and is renowned for its parcel-by-parcel vinification approach introduced by Jeanne Ferret, who owned the company until 1993. Ferret was responsible for the establishment of two of the domaine's most well-known vineyards: Tête de Cru and Hors Classe. Her daughter Colette managed Domaine Ferret up until 2008 when it was purchased by Louis Jadot.
The domaine's diverse soil types vary from poor limestone soils, to richer clays and volcanic pebbles. This geological variation means that there is a lot of variation in Domaine Ferret's wines. The east-facing Tête de Cru vineyard, for instance, is the source of the Le Clos, Clos des Prouges and Les Perrières wines, while the southeast-facing Hors Classe vineyard produces two parcel specific wines: Les Ménétrières and Tournant de Pouilly. The domaine's highest-quality parcels are also blended to produce its Pouilly-Fuissé wine label.

Grape Variety Chardonnay

Award and rating

93 points Wine Enthusiast
This walled vineyard lies between the winery and the church of Fuissé. Fermented in wood, this wine has spice to complement the fresh white fruits. It also has richness to give a dense texture that adds weight to the yellow fruits and mineral character. Drink the wine from 2021.

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pouilly-Fuissé Tête de Cru Le Clos offers up notes of ripe citrus fruit, honeysuckle and pastry cream. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and elegantly ample, with good concentration, a deep and concentrated core and a long, sappy finish. Le Clos is an east-facing site that runs between the Ferret property and the village church.

91 points Decanter
Le Clos is a small monopole of Domaine Ferret, located between the winery and the communal church within the village limits of Fuissé. It has an easterly exposition and the vines here range from 20 to 50 years old. The wine is very attractive in 2016, opening in the glass with aromas of citrus pith, white peach and crème pâtissière, the prelude to a tensile, concentrated palate with good cut and lots of energy. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030.

90-91 points Vinous
(along with the Clos des Prouges and Les Perrières, this wine started in 15% new oak, the rest one- and two-year-old barrels): Bright yellow. Complex scents of peach, orange, ripe grapefruit, smoke and minerals. Suave, fine-grained, elegantly styled wine with some exotic fruit notes enlivened by penetrating ripe acidity. Very ripe but with no shortage of inner-mouth tension. The citrussy finish still shows a firm edge, probably owing to the blocked malolactic fermentation. Production here was just 32 hectoliters per hectare, vs. an estate average of 38 in 2016.

Allen Meadows - Burghound
Here too there is a trace of reduction but it's sufficiently subtle as to allow notes of petrol, quinine and wood toast to be discerned. The rich and relatively full-bodied flavors possess an opulent mouth feel that allies with fine intensity on the sneaky long finish that flashes impressive power if limited elegance.