Francis Blanchet Pouilly Fume Cuvee Silice 2011
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BN#463806 |
Regular$21.99 Web Sale Only$19.90 SKU01242 |  |
"This is a wonderful steely Sauvignon Blanc filled with great minerality and light citrusy aromas and flavors. It has very floral aromas and great zesty flavors. Enjoy with shellfish such as raw clams and oysters, shrimp and crab dishes. Beautiful and delicious!"
Debbie Nelson - Wine Manager
Francis Blanchet
Honest, pure and unquestionably terroir-driven, the wines of Francis Blanchet effortlessly capture the firecracker-soul of Pouilly-Fumé and are a pleasure to drink.
Winemaker Francis Blanchet converted his basement into a working cellar and from this humble location turns out eloquent, vibrant Sauvignon Blanc year in and year out.
The appellation of Pouilly-Fumé sits across the river from Sancerre, in the eastern part of the Loire Valley, and its wines typically have a more flinty, smoky, minerally cut. than those of its neighbor. (Fumé, in French, means smoked.) Our special selection from the estate, "Silice," hails from a plot of very old vines that grow on exclusively flint stone soils.
Blanchet once gave us a great lesson in the power of terroir while we were standing in his "Silice" vineyard. He grabbed two stones from the ground and smacked them together; and then, unexpectedly, held the rocks up for us to smell. The whiff of gunpowder smoke was unmistakable. His wines exhale the same firecracker perfume, and share the same nervous energy throughout.
"Cuvée Silice" is vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Wine Advocate
While Blanchet's 2011 Pouilly-Fume Silice - which he expected to bottle in May or June - had ostensibly been roughed up from recent racking when I tasted it in April, it offered: an expressive nose of cassis, lime, mint, and rosemary; a silken, glossy texture; and a lingering, saliva-inducingly saline as well as invigoratingly herbal finish. I suspect that the allure and inner-mouth interest of this cuvee will only be enhanced prior to bottling and that it will prove a faithful table companion over the next 3-4 years.
Score: 89-90+.
—David Schildknecht,
June
2012.
All sizes are 750mL unless otherwise noted.
Vintages and ratings subject to change at any time.
All pricing and availability subject to change.
Artwork does not necessarily represent items for sale.
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