Château des Quarts Pouilly-Fuissé Clos de Quarts 2020

Château des Quarts was created in 2012 through a joint partnership between two old friends, Dominique Lafon and Olvier 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.

The vines are very old. The oldest were planted in 1917, and Olivier estimates they make up a third of the vineyard. The balance is 55 to 60 years old. The wine is made in Olivier’s cellar, but winemaking and élevage decisions are collaborative. Vineyard management is now organic. Bunches are pressed whole without foulage. Fermentations are allowed to proceed naturally in barrel, 6 to 7% of which are new, and the rest 1 to 3 years old. After malo, the wine is racked into neutral barrels to finish the elevage. Total elevage is a little short of 18 months. Olivier occasionally filters but does not like to fine.

"The 2020 Château des Quarts, which Merlin reminded me, he bought the fruit from between 2003 and 2011 before buying the property with Dominique Lafon, has a refined bouquet, fine mineralité with hints of white flower and wild mint. The palate is very focused with impressive density, fine acidity and a limestone-driven finish (though Merlin points out that here the limestone is less active than in other areas.) The saline finish lingers wonderfully." - 93 points, Neal Martin Vinous

"Moderate reduction pushes the underlying fruit to the background so a thorough aeration would be in order. Otherwise, there is excellent mid-palate density to the opulent and mouthcoating medium-bodied flavors that exude evident minerality on the powerful, sleek, impressively long and utterly beguiling finale. This is very good and a wine that could be enjoyed in its youth or held over the mid-term." - 92 points, Burghound

Producer: Château des Quarts

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Pouilly-Fuissé

Vintage: 2020

Size: 750ml