2015 Chateau des Rontets Organic Pouilly-Fuisse Clos Varambon, Maconnais

Fabrio Montrasi and Claire Gazeau exchanged their city lives as architects and returned to the family home to become farmers in 1995; Château des Rontets has been in Claire’s family since 1850.

The Clos Varambon is a wine conceived to be appreciated from its early age: this is why its vinified mainly in large volume containers and without new oak, in order have all the advantages of oak while keeping a more immediate and direct expression of the fruit. Depending on vintages, this cuvée can easily age from 6 to 10 years: as time goes by, the aromatic palate will evolve from white flowers and fresh fruits to an evocation of dry fruits, beeswax and spice.

Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Varambon unfurls in the glass with aromas of peach, green and yellow orchard fruit, almond paste and anise. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, pure and satiny, with an elegantly textural attack, tangy acids and a stony, saline finish. Meager yields of 18 hectoliters per hectare show through in above-average concentration this year. As readers may know, this cuvée is produced from the vines within the Clos that were planted after 1945: it's the château's largest bottling.