Marcel Couturier Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Scellés 2023

Variety: Chardonnay
Country Region: France, Burgundy, Mâconnais
Appellation: Pouilly-Fuissé

While most of the estate's wines are bottled after 11 months ageing on fine lees, this is bottled after 15 months due to its intensity and strength of character. This Pouilly-Fuissé is a blend of two vineyards: Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Reyssié has vines more than 80 years old in Chaintre on silty, clay and limestone dominated soils, and Pouilly-Fuissé Les Scellés coming from vines more than 50 years old in Fuissé, planted on the hillside on schistous clay soils with an easterly exposure.

Clos Scellés has a golden yellow colour. On the nose there are complex aromas of white flowers, yellow fruits, and candied lemons. On the palate, it is generous and mouth filling with a crisp, ‘sweet’ fruitiness, lots of finesse and a beautiful mineral finish.

Domaine Marcel Couturier has rapidly become a reference in the Mâconnais. Established in 2005 in the commune of Fuissé this small 11 ha estate is relatively new yet has already acquired beautiful vineyard holdings of the main appellations of Mâcon, Loché, Saint-Véran and Fuissé in less than 20 years. Marcel is now assisted by his son Auxence and daughter Cladie who takes responsibility for winemaking since 2017 and Auxence who works the vines with his father has moved the estate to organic and now bio-dynamic farming being certified in 2021 and 2022 respectively. With more hands to undertake work in the vines and improved viticulture the results are clear to see in each of the wines with exceptional purity and precision in each.

Here each vineyard and soil type are vinified separately with natural yeast and vinifications are quite similar for all wines allowing the terroir of each plot to express itself with greatest clarity. All wines are whole bunch pressed with no SO2 added at the press and both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur naturally in traditional Burgundy barrels with ageing on fine lees with no battonage and just one racking prior to bottling. There is a lightness of touch to all the wines with no SO2 during elevage and small safe amounts used at bottling (mostly around 11 months of ageing up to 15 months for the top wines) giving wines which offer incredible delicacy and energy with aromatic purity and complexity as a result.

There is notable diversity of soil types in this area with soils not only of limestone and clay but also sandstone and schist in places due to the fault lines causing these hills and mountains to rise up millions of years ago. With 13 different cuvees produced we have selected 3 wines to begin which we feel best represent the work of the family.