Chateau des Rontets Pouilly-Fuisse "Les Birbettes" 2022 dry white

INTRODUCTION TO CHÂTEAU DES RONTETS
+ ALL ITS OTHER CUVÉES IN STOCK

 

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Château des Rontets Pouilly-Fuissé "Les Birbettes" 2022:

Guide RVF des Meilleurs Vins de France 2026 (Sept. 2025): 95/100. Finally, Les Birbettes gradually reveals its very vast dimensions: intense, full of vitality and sap, this great white is armed to withstand the ages.

Guide Bettane + Desseauve 2026 (Sept. 2025): 95/100.

Technical sheet written by the domaine:

"The ladies of the guest tables have adopted three words to depict 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 at the origin of the Pouilly-Fuissé Les Birbettes cuvée, have all well exceeded sixty years. It is one hectare distributed over four plots: two of them were planted in the 1920s, just after the phylloxera epidemic, and the other two at the end of the Second World War, in 1945. The main characteristic of old vines is their ability to implement a sort of "regulatory system" that limits the influence of climatic conditions and allows for regular growth during the growing season. The vine can thus achieve the best grape maturation. The clusters are always composed of small berries, and their potential remains remarkably constant from year to year. The resulting wine expresses more purity and verticality and is marked by a saline imprint, which in our opinion is the clearest manifestation of minerality.

Vinification: It is done in 228 and 400-liter barrels, 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 final blending prepare for bottling, which is done without filtration or fining.

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

If you like the wines from Château des Rontets, you might also appreciate those from the Domaine de la Soufrandière