2015 Pouilly Fuisse Clos des Quarts
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Tasting notes
(from rocky limestone soil): Bright, light yellow. Strong yet delicate scents of peach, flowers, stone and menthol. Wonderfully dense but fine-grained and airy, saturating the mouth with mandarin zest, spice and mineral perfume. Not a particularly large-scaled or powerful wine in the context of 2015 but really saturates the mouth and rises on the aftertaste. Boasts an exhilarating balance of sweetness and acidity and finishes suave, long and weightless. Production was 42 hectoliters in 2015, vs. 48 in 2014 and 50 in 2016, according to Olivier Merlot, who co-owns this property with Dominique Lafon and makes the wine in his cellar in La Roche-Vineuse.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Pouilly-Fuisse Clos Des Quarts is the joint venture resurrecting this property between Olivier and Dominique Lafon that debuted in 2012. "We have started to plow the vineyard and using only sulfur and copper," Olivier told me. "We have seen a big change in terms of acidity, balance between sugar and acidity, lower pH. You can really see that with the 2015." This latest release has a very detailed and focused bouquet with subtle mineral, white flower, blackcurrant leaf and a hint of aniseed. The palate is very well defined with crisp acidity, very focused and precise with superb mineralité. This is the most intense Château des Quarts that I have tasted since the takeover—just a compelling Mâconnais wine from two people who know how to make it.
The Lafon/Merlin joint venture. Lots of density and drama. Serious stuff with a savoury skein and a dry finish. Lots of terroir here! (JR)
(hazy from tank; this wine will soon go back to barrel and may not be bottled until after the winter; from grapes harvested beginning on August 28): Perfumed scents of lemon, lime, flowers, menthol and stone. Boasts a creamy old-vines character but also compelling sappy minerality to the flavors of citrus fruits, spices and crushed rock. This very promising wine offers a lovely combination of flesh, sweetness and salinity.