Domaine Michel Redde & Fils - Pouilly-Fumé Barre à Mine 2023

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Sébastien and Romain Redde continue to drive the success of this iconic Pouilly estate, founded in the 50s by their grandfather Michel. Actively developed by their father Thierry, the range covers the five terroirs of the appellation. They have since structured it into parcel-based cuvées, spread over the 40 hectares of vineyards (including 1.5 ha of Chasselas). In 2016, the cuvée barre-à-mine was born from a former flint quarry, planted at 10,000 vines per hectare and rehabilitated after a long titanic effort. Cuvée Majorum is the flagship of the range, made from the oldest vines and only produced in the best years. The well-dimensioned winery, meticulous ageing and progressive ambitions of the two brothers confirm this estate as one of the sector's great success stories.

Decanter

About the wine:

Citrus, lemon and grapefruit on the nose, with hints of passion fruit. Very ripe on the palate, this is an energetic style that reveals citrus and floral fruit aromas combined with firm, mineral and textured complexity. Highly concentrated and fresh, this top-of-the-range wine comes from young vines planted in pure flint soil, from an old flint quarry blasted ten years ago to allow the vines to be planted. It reveals the underlying power of the terroir and the concentrated minerality of wines from flinty soils. A fascinating wine, full of character, which will benefit from a few years in bottle.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the domain :

The estate was created in the 17th century by a certain François Redde, a winemaker in Pouilly-sur-Loire. His distant heir, Michel Redde, revived the winegrowing business in the 1950s. Thierry, his son, and his grandchildren Sébastien and Romain are now at the helm of the 40-hectare estate, which is in the process of converting to organic farming.

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

About the wine:

This is one of Pouilly-Fumé's most ambitious cuvées, yet perfectly rooted in its hard, flinty terroir. Enchanting notes of violet and raspberry: an exceptional perfume found nowhere else. Remarkably precise, with fine definition and nuances. It is already showing itself to be appealing in 2023, a low-concentration vintage.

About the domain :

This historic estate, one of the few to have Chasselas vines, is now run by Thierry Redde's two sons, Sébastien and Romain. Alongside wines that are fairly classic, but never enzymed or yeasted (La Moynerie or the very ripe Majorum), the range is now organized by terroir, on the initiative of the new generation: Les Bois de Saint-Andelain (red flint clay), Les Cornets (Kimmeridgian marl), Champs des Billons (Portlandian limestone), Barre à Mine (high-density vines planted on a former flint quarry) and, most recently, Les Toupées (Oxfordian limestone). The latest vintages are meticulously crafted with undeniable uprightness.

Vinous

About the wine:

Barre à Mine 2023 starts out round and open. It is more expressive on the nose at this early stage than other flint-based vineyards, but this may be due to the youth of the vines. It's delicate but rather pretty, with floral and nectarine notes. It's perhaps not the most concentrated expression, but it's rather open and has an alcohol-tinged ripeness on the finish (13.5%). The 2023 ends on a taut, ungenerous note, as if stuck in a straitjacket and trying to escape. This terroir has great potential.