Chateau des Rontets Pouilly-Fuisse "Les Birbettes" 2017 dry white (3 bottles)

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Château des Rontets Pouilly-Fuissé "Les Birbettes" 2017

RVF Guide to the Best Wines of France 2020 (August 2019): 16.5/20. Les Birbettes was not bottled at the time of our tasting; however, it unfolds in its usual very plush style, rather creamy, playing on the bitterness of the finish that gives persistence. A great wine for the ages. Peak: 2020-2029

Bettane and Desseauve Guide 2020 (August 2019) : 17/20. Assertive personality on the Birbettes, the sun is in the glass and in the fruit, the mid-palate is powerful. The finish reveals a slight hint of botrytis. Peak : 2023-2028. Food pairings: lobster, canapés and petits fours, quiches, tarts and fish pies, veal blanquette, pasta and mushroom risottos, smoked fish.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (William Kelley, August 2019): 94/100. The 2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Birbettes has turned out very well, revealing a pretty bouquet of confit citrus, frangipane and smoke that are framed by a discreet touch of new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, enveloping and textural, with broad shoulders and a powerful, sun-kissed profile but with a livelier, less extreme personality than the 2015 rendition. This cuvée is produced from parcels of very old vines, planted in the 1920s and in 1945. Drink date 2020-2035.



Technical sheet written by the domaine:

"The ladies of the guest tables have adopted three words to describe old age: at fifty-five, it's a birbon; at sixty, it's a birbe; past this fatal deadline, it's a birbette." (Léo Lespès, 1815-1875).

The vineyard : Indeed, the very old vines of the Clos, which are the source of the cuvée of Pouilly-Fuissé Les Birbettes, have all well surpassed sixty years. It consists of one hectare divided into four parcels: two of them were planted in the 1920s, just after the phylloxera epidemic, and the other two at the end of World War II, in 1945. The main characteristic of the old vines is their ability to implement a kind of "regulatory system" that limits the influence of climatic conditions and allows for consistent growth during the growing season. The vine can thus achieve the best ripeness of the grapes. The clusters are always composed of small berries, and their potential remains remarkably consistent from year to year. The wine produced expresses more purity and verticality and is marked by a saline imprint, which is in our view the clearest manifestation of minerality.

The vinification: It is done in barrels of 228 and 400 liters, which are between one and six years old. The wine is racked before the next harvest and blended for an additional ten months of aging on fine lees in older barrels. A second racking and the final blending prepare for bottling, which is done without filtration or fining.

The wine: It is a cuvée that begins to express itself fully from the third year, becoming increasingly complex during its years of bottle aging. The fine vintages of Les Birbettes can age for 10 to 15 years or more.