2020 Pouilly Fumé Les Champs des Billons

Third generation Sébastien and Romain Redde are now steering this Pouilly Fumé estate which sits in a not-so-glamorous location: next to the Route National 7. The road used to be the main route from Paris to the Mediterranean before a new motorway was built. The domaine was probably the first to release a single vineyard Pouilly Fumé, Majoram, in 1973. Since the Redde brothers joined the estate, the number of single vineyard wines has grown to six. They are all made in the same way in a bid to emphasize site differences: they are fermented and matured in foudres (15 or 20hl) and/or demi-muids and there’s no malolactic – ever. The estate is now converting to organic viticulture and practicing biodynamics. In 2020, they also started to ferment the wines using native yeasts. There’s also a rare Chasselas bottling named Gustave Daudin, that’s not half bad probably due to the amount of love put in – tiny yields, vinifying in demi-muids and remaining on lees for up to a year. The blended cuvées from younger vines provide the domaine’s entry level offerings that are light and vivacious, but the estate starts to sing when it comes to the single vineyard wines. These are bottlings with outstanding texture and concentration although in 2019 and 2020, high alcohol levels somewhat upset the balance. The most distinctive wine in the line-up is Les Bois de Saint-Andelain, which is grown on flint and stands out from the limestone-based single vineyards for its upright and powerful structure. The original single vineyard, Marjorum, is only made in the best vintages from the estate’s oldest vines, which are grown on Kimmeridgian marl and flint soils.