2019 Pouilly-Fumé, Baron De L, de Ladoucette, Loire

An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp  Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves. It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.

The Ladoucette and Lafond families have owned vineyards in Pouilly-Fumé since 1787 when the Comte Lafond purchased the region`s largest wine estate from Louis XV's illegitimate daughter. The 6th generation Patrick de Ladoucette took over the vineyards and winemaking in the early 1970s - he was the first member of the family to concentrate exclusively on wine production and it is largely through his efforts that this estate now produces the finest wines of the region.