POUILLY FUISSÉ

(65+ year old vines near Solutré that face north east). Once again there are plenty of phenolic and wood toast aromas that dominate the nose. This is almost always the biggest wine in the Barraud range and so it is again in 2016 with its imposingly-scaled and powerful flavors that flash plenty of sleek muscularity on the moderately complex but remarkably persistent finish that is also bone dry and ever-so-mildly warm. Like most of these examples of Pouilly-Fuissé the depth is a work in progress but thanks to the density of the underlying material more should almost certainly develop. 2021+ Rating: 91 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Oct 2018)

As is often the case, the 2016 Pouilly-Fuissé En Buland Vieilles Vignes is the greatest wine in Barraud's cellar—and one of the wines of the vintage in the Mâconnais. Wafting from the glass with a classy bouquet of citrus oil, white flowers, iodine and smoke, it's full-bodied, pure and tensile, with a satiny attack, amazing depth and dimension, concluding with a long, racy finish. This is a stunning Pouilly-Fuissé produced from the domaine's oldest vines in a north-facing lieu-dit. Its quality makes a mockery of the appellation's new premiers crus, as at the time of writing, En Buland is denied the classification by virtue of the very exposition that gives it such an advantage in the Mâconnais's generous climate. Let's hope that the INAO remedy that error. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 94 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Aug 2018)

(65+ year old vines near Solutré that face north east). Once again there is plenty of funky reduction and residual malo aromas that dominate the nose. This is almost always the biggest wine in the Barraud range and so it is again in 2016 with its imposingly-scaled and powerful flavors that flash plenty of sleek muscularity on the moderately complex but remarkably persistent finish. Like most of these examples of Pouilly-Fuissé the depth is a work in progress but thanks to the density of the underlying material more should almost certainly develop. Drinking range: 2021 - Rating: 90-92 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2018)

Ripe stone fruit aromas, rich and full on the palate. No significant oak influence allows the fruit to shine. Rich, full structure. Drinking range: 2018 - 2022 Rating: 16.5 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2018)

(these vines at about 350 meters face northeast, but the Barrauds have never chaptalized this wine; production here is routinely between 40 and 45 hectoliters per hectare): Pale, bright yellow. Cooler on the nose than the Sûr La Roche, offering precise, vibrant aromas of crystallized lemon peel, menthol, minerals and white pepper. Densely packed, concentrated and fine-grained; less showy than the Sûr La Roche but offers an old-vines creaminess of texture. Wonderfully sappy, dense wine with real energy and salinity. Julien Barraud noted that En Buland features soil similar to that of Les Crays, which is slated to be elevated to premier cru status when the new classification is finalized. The very long finish features adamant stony minerality. A complete wine with all the elements for a graceful evolution in bottle, but it will also be drinkable early. (Incidentally, as the Barrauds harvested barely ten hectoliters per hectare from their old vines in Les Chataigniers, they put this juice into their Cuvée Alliance.) Rating: 92-94 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Dec 2017)