Domaine Couturier Pouilly Fuisse Clos Scelles 2021

Domaine Couturier is led by the legendary Marcel Couturier, who comes from a long line of vignerons in the southern Mâconnais, in conjunction with the next generation of the domaine: his daughter Cladie and son Auxence. The winery is located in the commune of Fuissé, overlooking the village of Loché, Mâcon, and the great plain of Bresse. Their vineyards are located within a fault zone, meaning several different soil types exist close to one another within a small area. In total, Domaine Couturier farms 11 hectares of chardonnay vineyards in multiple appellations. Most of their vines are quite old, with many parcels exceeding 70 years of age and their “young” vines averaging 30 to 40 years old. 

Farming is meticulous at Domaine Couturier, employing only certified organic (Ecocert 2021) and certified biodynamic (Demeter 2022) methods. They work soils with ground cover between rows to regenerate the hard, poor clay soils, which greatly benefit from the aeration and the introduction of native organic materials.

Domaine Couturier owns 0.5ha in the Premier Cru Clos Reyssié vineyard in the village of Chaintré, one of four villages that comprise Pouilly-Fuissé. The Couturier family has an intimate relationship with this vineyard, beginning with Marcel’s great-grandfather drawing the map for the original boundaries before they were revised in 2020. Clos Reyssié is a large lieu-dit of about eight hectares within Pouilly-Fuissé. East-facing, on a gently sloping hillside that is exposed to the rising sun, Clos Reyssié has deep, clay-rich soil with more rocks at the top of the slope. Domaine Couturier is one of just 12 producers who work parcels in the vineyard; their parcel lies towards the lower part of the slope, which is beneficial as many of the heavier clay elements get washed down from the top due to erosion. The eastern-facing aspect of the slope, along with the cooling influence of the clay, combine to allow the wine to keep a certain freshness, yielding wines that are rich and structured without being heavy or aromatically blowsy. 

Their Clos Reyssié parcel in Chaintré is now combined with the lieu-dit Les Scellés in Fuissé, to produce their cuvée Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Scellés bottling. Despite the history of the Couturier family roots in Clos Reyssié, they lost the right to label their bottles as such when the boundaries for Clos Reyssié were redrawn in 2020 during Pouilly-Fuissé’s bid for Premier Cru status (which it received). Nevertheless, Clos Scellés is an even greater wine from blending the two complementary lieux-dits, which contain vines between 60 and 90 years old. Couturier’s grand, elegant Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Scellés is a direct reflection of the combination of fruit from the deep, clay-rich soil of Clos Reyssié and the shales of Les Scellés.

Vinification – At harvest, whole bunches are hand-picked, and once the bunches are pressed, they allow the must to settle for up to two days (static settling). Sulfur is not added to the bunches when they arrive in the winery, and the resulting wild-yeast fermentations are long and cool, as they never rush the fermentation by warming the cellar. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur naturally in French Burgundy barrels (75% used and 25% new). Some of the gross lees are retained during fermentation, resulting in a small amount of skin contact during both fermentation and élevage. Once the must is in the barrel, it is basically left alone from that point until it is bottled. The wines ferment and age in the same barrels without racking or bâtonnage, as they are wary of making them too fat and leesy. The wine spends a total of 11 months in its fermentation barrel and is racked only once prior to bottling. Depending on the vintage, only a light bentonite fining and the necessary amount of sulfur dioxide is added before bottling.

• Puilly-Fuissé

• Site: Clos Reyssié in Chaintré and Les Scellés in Fuissé

• Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

• Vine Age: 60-90 years old

• Soil: Calcareous clay and shale

• Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in French Burgundy barrels (75% old and 25% new)

• Aging: 11 months fermentation in barrel without bâtonnage

• Farming: Certified Organic (Ecocert 2021), Certified Biodynamic (Demeter 2022)

• Vegan: Yes

• Suggested Retail: $46.00 (750mL)