2006 Pouilly Fuisse Terroirs De Vergisson

The Verget 2006 Pouilly-Fuisse Terroirs de Vergisson continues the musky, decadently floral and borderline-over-ripe themes of the Terres Noires Satin-Veran, and despite the chalky, stony soils in this sector, it is not a wine to which one can attribute any clearly mineral flavor elements. As Guffens’ jokes about the vintage remind one: in the Macon in 2006, even “early” picking could be a bit too late! Still, this will deliver its own sort of kinky pleasure in the short run. As he as since 2004, Guffens bottled a series of single-village, single terroir, single-site Verget Pouilly-Fuisses. All of this year’s will be best drunk within 2-3 years. Guffens acknowledges that his best 2006 wines from Daveye and from selected villages of Macon-Villages appellation are more focussed than most of his Pouilly-Fuisses. In the Macon, at least, Jean-Marie Guffen is convinced that in 2006 “you had the choice between picking too early or picking too late. I chose the former. The sugar levels were high in either case, the acidity was low, and grapes were beginning to rot.” Guffens ran his picking crew ragged between the Macon, Cote d’Or, and Chablis, with more felicitous results in the two last-named sectors. (For notes on the 2006 Chablis at Verget, please consult my report in issue 179.) In the Cote d’Or, Guffens was more successful this year than in 2005, a vintage he thinks is in general over-rated and unlikely to stand the test of time. He was sparing with batonnage in 2006, and as always highly selective in pressing and in retention of lees (meaning he had fewer to work with). A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93