Description
This walled vineyard site was purchased by the Bret brothers’ maternal grandfather giving it the name Le Clos de Grand-Pere. It turned out to be a great purchase as this 0.7-hectare plot contains vines well over 100 years old which helps the average age of the vines equal 50 years. This sits on a rocky vein of hard limestone on the lower part of the at the bottom of the Pouilly-Vinzelles slope, making it Macon Vinzelles.
This wine from Macon Vinzelles makes an impression. It is discernably Chardonnay with strong mineral and stone notes. It has characteristics of citrus, peach, stealy, mineral, and nutty. The palate is beautifully fleshy, with a phenolic bite. There is also hints of flint and vanilla on the silky finish. Very lovely drinking.
La Soufrandiere Les Clos De Grand Pere Macon Vinzelles 2018 is ready to drink now and I don’t think will benefit from further aging. This would pair beautifully with some umami Japanese inspired food.
La Soufrandiere Les Clos De Grand Pere Macon Vinzelles 2018, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.
La Soufrandiere is wine from the family estate that started being produced in 1999. La Soufrandiere consists of 6 hectare in Pouilly Vinzelle and Macon Vinzelle that are certified biodynamic. The wines are poised and elegant, and defined. Bret Brothers is a negoce business started in 2001 by the family. They harvest 10 hectares across Macon to make 27 cuvees. Both sides of the business are made with passion and care and after tasting no less than 11 wines made from Chardonnay I can tell you they were all discernibly different. The Bret Brothers Macon-Uzichy is great for immediate drinking and their Pouilly Fuisse Les Chevrieres is in need of a few years. In the La Soufrandiere range, it becomes harder to separate them. But having been to their Les Quarts vineyard, I am pulled to its freshness and power. La Soufrandiere Estate Pouilly Vinzelles is from the same Les Quarts vineyard and is better for younger drinking.
La Soufrandiere Les Clos De Grand Pere Macon Vinzelles 2018 Wine Review
Jamie Goode
Wine Anorak
91 points
“From the deep soils at the bottom of the slope, this feels its weight and breadth with more stone fruit, lees, and broken stones ruling the stately palate. Stone dust lingers on the lengthy finish.”
Macon
The forgotten link in Burgundy. There is a lot of wine made here almost exclusively from Chardonnay (especially when talking quality wine). What Macon does have, is a large amount of switched on winemakers who are working to improve the area’s image and overall quality.
Burgundy
The classic part of Burgundy, known as the Cote D’Or (the slope of gold), is essentially one vineyard that is 60km long and maybe 5km at its widest. From this limestone ridge, some of the most complex, long-lived and aromatic wines are produced from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Cistercian monks who owned the land codified the entire region, and so each small plot has a name.
Chardonnay
The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to, and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnays can range from cool-climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring, as can malolactic fermentation.
French Wine
The land that so many New World (not European) wine producers look to emulate. To generalise about French wine, I would say it is savoury, lighter-bodied wines. They are the definition of elegant, complex. There are many styles, though. And there is a French wine for every palate. They lead the world in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy. Sparkling Wine in Champagne. Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Syrah(Shiraz) and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace. Sauvignon Blanc, and Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. Gamay in Beaujolais.
Wine
Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.
The wine grape is impressive. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.
Human inputs can influence the final product, including the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.
The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. Terroir is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.
White Wine
It is interesting to know that you can make white wine from almost any grape. The colour comes from the skins, and if there is no contact, there is no colour. White wines tend to be delicate, perfumed, higher in acid and lower in alcohol. It seems for this and many other reasons, it is hard to make an incredibly impressive white wine. But those that have mastered the art are indeed some of the best winemakers in the world.
It is a falsehood to think that white wine does not age as well as red wine. But it is correct that white wine, as a rule, doesn’t age for as long.
The Wine Depository
I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.
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