2017 Blanc Fumé de Pouilly The cosmic balance and inescapable magic of this sauvignon blanc made it a perfect 20/20 in my tasting notes, says Matthew Jukes.
2017 Blanc Fum de Pouilly, Barre Mine, Michel Redde et Fils, Loire, France£37.50, Goedhuis & Co, 020-7793 7900, goedhuis.com
I tasted this wine on 31 January and it moved me so much that I wanted to write it up on the spot. It provides a once-in-a-lifetime sauvignon-blanc experience, but, sadly, it was not due to arrive in the UK until later in the year.
Since then, I have been playing a game trying to think of a finer wine made from this oft-derided grape. I cannot think of a single one that combines all of the epic sauvignon-blanc attributes in a single wine. Pavillon Blanc du Chteau Margaux; Haut-Brion Blanc (OK, this has semillon on board); Gembrook Hill; early Cloudy Bay; countless Chavignols from Cotat; Redde's own wines; Cantina Terlano; Colterenzio; Reverdy; Spottswoode; Casa Marn; Daguenea; Dog Point; Te Whare Ra; The Berrio; Iona; Via Leyda; Dry Creek Vineyard; Larry Cherubino's epic 2017; The Lane Vineyard's Gathering (again with semillon loitering with intent); Shaw & Smith; Cape Point Vineyards; Duckhorn; Greywacke; Boulay; Pell and on and on all these wines are fantastic sauvignon blancs, but none of them are as complete nor as enchanting as 2017 Barre Mine.
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The cosmic balance and inescapable magic made it a perfect 20/20 in my tasting notes. Barre Mine translates as Crowbar. Never has such a blunt instrument inspired such an exquisite flavour. It is finally in the UK and Goedhuis only has 25 cases, so hurry.
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)
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Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.
Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.
He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.
Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.
Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.
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