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

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Sébastien and Romain Redde continue to build on the success of this iconic Pouilly estate, created in the 1950s by their grandfather Michel. Actively developed by their father Thierry, the range covers the appellation's five terroirs. They have since structured it into single vineyard cuvées, spread over 40 hectares of vineyards (including 1.5 hectares of Chasselas). In 2016, the Barre-à-Mine cuvée was born, produced from an old flint quarry, planted with 10,000 vines per hectare and rehabilitated after a long and titanic effort. The Majorum cuvée is the flagship of the range, produced from the oldest vines and only in good years. The well-sized winery, careful aging, and the two brothers' ambitions for progress confirm this estate as one of the sector's great successes.

Decanter

About wine:

A nose of citrus, lemon, and grapefruit, with notes of passion fruit. The palate is very ripe, an energetic style that reveals citrus and floral fruit aromas combined with a firm, mineral, and textured complexity. With beautiful concentration and freshness, this high-end wine comes from young vines planted in pure flint soil, originating from an old flint quarry that was dynamited 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 flint soils. A fascinating wine, full of character, which will benefit from being kept in the bottle for a few years.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Estate created in the 17th century by François Redde, a winegrower in Pouilly-sur-Loire. His distant heir, Michel Redde, revived the wine-growing business in the 1950s. Thierry, his son, and his grandchildren Sébastien and Romain are now at the helm of a 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 wine:

This is one of Pouilly-Fumé's most ambitious vintages, while remaining perfectly rooted in its very hard flint terroir. Captivating notes of violet and raspberry: an exceptional aroma found nowhere else. Remarkably precise, it delivers definition and subtle nuances. It is already showing promise in 2023, a vintage with low concentration.

About the estate:

This historic estate, one of the few to grow Chasselas grapes, is now run by Thierry Redde's two sons, Sébastien and Romain. Alongside fairly classic wines that are never enzyme-treated or yeast-fermented (La Moynerie and the very ripe Majorum), the range has been expanded by the new generation to include wines made from specific terroirs: Les Bois de Saint-Andelain (red flint clay), Les Cornets (Kimmeridgian marl), Champs des Billons (Portlandian limestone), Barre à Mine (high-density vines planted with a crowbar in a former flint quarry) and, most recently, Les Toupées (Oxfordian limestone). The latest vintages are crafted with meticulous care and undeniable integrity.

Vinous

About wine:

The Barre à Mine 2023 starts off 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 youthfulness of the vines. It is delicate but rather pretty, with floral and nectarine notes. It may not be the most concentrated expression, but it is quite open and shows a maturity tinged with alcohol on the finish (13.5%). The 2023 ends on a tense and ungenerous note, as if it were stuck in a straitjacket and trying to escape. This terroir has a lot of potential.