Pouilly Fumé – Coteau des Girarmes
Pouilly Fumé vies with its neighbour across the river, Sancerre, to make the most classically defined French Sauvignon Blanc.
Using an indigenous yeast, Coteau des Girarmes is fermented and aged in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. 60,000 bottles are produced
Fumé is always regarded as having a ‘gun-flint’ character. As with Sancerre the soil is a limestone-clay mixture, though in general the clay content higher and limestone lower than its neighbour, which then gives way to more sandy clay around the commune of Tracy, where Roger Pabiot is based.
As a result of the soils, the wine is normally fuller, richer and slightly less subtlety defined. Unlike Sancerre no red or rose is produced in the AC.
Awards:
89 points, Recommended – Decanter March 2023 (2021 vintage)
3-star rating, Exceptional, & Coup de Cœur – Hachette Wine Guide 2024 (2022 vintage)
Slightly more fruit driven but still a classic, gun-flinty-smoky style of Pouilly Fumé. An engaging nose giving a slight elderflower bouquet with citrus notes; soft fruit, including mango, emerges from a light, clean, minerally palate, rounded off with a hint of lime: fine and elegant with good length and intensity.
This wine will mature up to 2028
“Acacia, nectarine and citrus leaf, pineapple, and a hint of crunchy peach. The palate is finessed and seamless with a gentle flow of fruit. Complex, showing freshness and elegance. Drink 2023-2035.” Decanter March 2023
Food matching – as aperitif; or with seafood, shellfish, oysters and goats cheese.
About the Producer
Domaine Roger Pabiot
Domaine Roger Pabiot is a 22ha family estate in Tracy-sur-Loire; its village of Boisgibault is located on the edge of the Loire nature reserve.
Pauline Pabiot (5th generation, Roger’s daughter) took the reins in 2017 after studying “viti-œno” in Burgundy and Switzerland. The estate is currently undergoing organic conversion and includes some 80 year old vines – the average age is 25 years.
The varied terroir includes the four different soils of the region: hard limestone, flinty clay, sandy terraces and Kimmeridgian marl – each lending particular characteristics in the blending of the final wine
