2024 Domane Jean-Max Roger, Pouilly-Fumé, Cuvée Les Alouettes, Loire Valley, France.
The pale greenish/straw hued Jean-Max Roger Pouilly-Fumé is another delicious terroir driven and pure wine that is well worth searching out for its authentic nature and clarity with bright lemon/lime, wild tart peach, fleshy green melon and aromatic gooseberry fruits, wrapped in a steely crisp frame along with flinty/smoky stone, tangy herbs and delicate tropical notes.The freshly picked Sauvignon Blanc grapes, coming into the Jean-Max Roger cellar are whole cluster juiced, with an immediate gentle pneumatic pressing and a cold settlement for between 48 and 72 hours to drop out phenolics and solids before fermentation. The fermentation was done all naturally with indigenous yeasts with temperature control in stainless steel to add to development of the complexity of aromas and promote freshness. The wine matures on the heavy lees of fermentation until the first racking which occurred between February and April, without malos, with the wine seeing a light finning and filtration, as well as cold stabilization to keep everything crisp and vibrant. Pouilly-Fumé has 18 communes in the appellation, which is located on the right bank of the Loire in the Nièvre area, not far from Sancerre, with mix of Kimmeridgian marls (limestone) and Silex (Flint) soils, is famous for the wines of Didier Dagueneau and some of the most prized Sauvignon Blanc vines in the world. With the small crops in Sancerre and rising prices, this wine is a savvy Sauvignon Blanc choice
The Jean-Max Roger estate, best known for their Sancerre, located, as I have mentioned before, in the village of Bué was founded in the early 1970s, when Jean-Max Roger took over the 4 hectares of Sancerre vineyards left to him by his parents, which he operated with his wife, Nicole until now, with his sons Thibault and Etienne having truly defined the style here since taking control in 2005, and I have been thrilled with everything I’ve tasted in the last few vintages. I like the authentic nature of these Jean-Max Roger wines, and each time I have them I like them more and more, especially when they have some extended aging, these are whites that have long lives, concentration and lovely textural presence. The estate has some incredible parcels, of Sauvignon Blanc, spread around Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and in Menetou-Salon. Many of the vineyards here are set on prized Kimmeridgian soils, ancient limestone, which gives the beautiful mineral intensity and the distinctive terroir influences in the wines at Jean-Max Roger, both in the whites, exclusively Sauvignon Blanc, and the Pinot Noir from Sancerre. Often overlooked, Pouilly-Fumé became an AOC in 1937 and It sits directly across the river from its famous neighbor, Sancerre, which is much more well known overall, even though enthusiasts search out the best from Pouilly-Fumé with a feverous passion, and this Jean-Max Roger Cuvée Les Alouette version deserves your attention, with the quality and value on display in the bottle.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive