2018 Domaine Thibert Pouilly-Vinzelles - Les Longeays

The Thibert family has been rooted in the village of Fuissé in the Mâconnais (the southernmost part of Burgundy) for three and a half centuries. Husband and wife Andrée and René Thibert started making wine from a tiny plot in 1967; their children Christophe and Sandrine have gradually taken on primary responsibility for the domaine starting in the 1990s. They grow and make a dizzying 10 single-vineyard wines from different terroirs in the Mâconnais. The Thibert’s village gives its name to Pouilly-Fuissé - the most famous Mâconnais appellation. Pouilly-Vinzelles is an adjacent and smaller appellation, and like Pouilly-Fuissé known for powerful and mineral chardonnay.

Les Longeays is a top vineyard area within Pouilly-Vinzelles; wines grown there can be labeled Premier Cru starting with the 2024 vintage. Domaine Thibert’s Les Longeays comes from vineyards planted in 1975. Soils are predominantly limestone and clay. Indigenous fermentation was followed by aging for 23 months in French oak barrels, a small percentage of which were new. The wine was bottled unfiltered. The wine is a lively dance of ripe orchard fruits and crisp citrus, plus flinty smokiness, chalkiness, and a ferrous note. This is seven-year-old white Burgundy that is just entering its beautifully-aged window and will continue its positive evolution for at least 3-5 years. This wine comes alive with air. Drink it in an ample wineglass, not too cold, and not too fast. It’s a perfect complement to roast chicken or other birds - or pistachio-crusted fish.