Domaine de la Pirolette - La Poulette 2017

Bettane & Desseauve

About wine:

A classy chicken. The finesse is there, even the tannins assert themselves with style. Promising.

About the estate:

Grégory Barbet, son of the former director of Jean Loron, produced his first vintage in 2013. With 15 hectares perfectly located around the property, Grégory quickly understood the need to deal with the heterogeneity of the cru, which is better known for its evocative name than for its hitherto little-known plots. While his village cuvée is reliable and structured in style, his single-vineyard cuvées, Poulette and Carjot, are still developing. Indeed, while the use of wood has improved, it is the blending with concrete eggs that has truly brought a more subtle balance to the woodiness, which finds its accuracy in 2018. In an appellation where references were lacking, this is a young estate to watch, both for the rising quality of its wines and for the contagious passion of its young winemaker.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

The 2017 Saint-Amour La Poulette from Domaine de la Pirolette presents a beautiful bouquet of cherries, raspberries, licorice, and subtle notes of peony, followed by a medium-bodied to full-bodied palate that is velvety and supple with an appealing core of fruit, powdery tannins, and a penetrating finish.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

This black velvet distills aromas of marmotte cherry. Aged for 16 months in concrete eggs, the fruit appears as bright as a rough diamond. The cellar will polish it.

About the estate:

A former sales executive in the cooperage industry, Virginie Barbet bought this estate in 2013 with her husband Grégory and a few investor friends. The grapes are destemmed or left whole depending on the cuvée. But always with a "toasted cap" accompanied by pumping over and rack and return for gentle extraction. She then ages their various single-vineyard cuvées, which are among the most distinctive terroirs of the appellation, in French oak barrels and concrete eggs. Today, they are one of the few estates that are restoring Saint-Amour's status as a cru.

Wine Enthusiast

About wine:

One of the estate's single-vineyard wines, this wine was aged in concrete eggs for 16 months. Open and ripe, it has a smooth texture that conceals the firm tannins underneath. The structure, black fruit, and richness come together beautifully. Allow the wine to age until 2021.

Gilbert & Gaillard

James Suckling