Shifting Into the World of Pouilly-Fume

“Wine is bottled poetry.” --Robert Louis Stevenson.

Bonjour, les amateurs de vin.

This is to say, I recently decided to step into Sauvignon Blanc the French way. Although my intention was to find and purchase a Sancerre wine, in keeping with my goal of finding the best wines for the best price, I shifted into the world of Pouilly Fume.
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First, let's quickly discuss both Pouilly-Fume and Sancerre, both are 100% Sauvignon Blanc. The interesting thing to me is, while they both come from the eastern Loire Valley in France, they are simply separated by the width of the Loire river. Similar, yet there are differences.

You see, Fume is richer, rounder and smokier, while Sancerre is bright citrusy, with crisp acidity. While Sancerre produces some Pinot Noir red and roses, as does Lacheteau, both vineyards use 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

With that bit of this knowledge under my hat, my partner, ever clever, found a promising varietal sold at Trader Joe's. Oui!

Wine adventuring had begun.

Sancerre tends to be priced a bit higher than I wanted to bring to Gigi's Wine Shelf. Once at Trader Joe's, I searched and found a bottle of the Pouilly Fume on the bottom shelf, and it was slightly under $20  at $17. plus change. 

Success!

The corked bottle with a lovely ritzy label, was a 2024, Vignobles Lacheteau. Pouilly Fume. Vignobles translated, means vineyards or wine-growing regions.

A prominent French wine producer, owned by Les Grands Chais de France, they offer budget friendly Loire Valley wines, at places such as, yes, Trader Joe's. However, wine critics and enthusiasts are known to praise all their varietals as excellent. While the label has several white wines including, Vouvray, my focus was on Pouilly Fume.

Putting the wine in the fridge instead of the chiller, I removed it and failed to adhere to the 20-20 wine rule. Red wine, chill for 20 minutes, chilled white wine let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. I admit I can be a rule breaker about small things.

Pressing on, it was time to sip and judge. 

The wine producer stores the wine completely in stainless steel, no oak. As I have scant appreciation for heavy oaky wine, this is a big plus for me.

After my first sip, I decided to let it sit at room temperature to warm for a full-flavor experience. As we were sitting outdoors on our loggia in South Florida, it did not take lone for it to reach the point for proper tasting.

I always try to use the appropriate glass for wine, and a tiny swirl never hurts. Honestly, aeration is not important for the lighter whites and too much could flatten the flavor. However, do hold the glass by the stem in order to keep whites nice and cool.

So, for me, this varietal is incredibly subtle, fresh, clean and just a bit tropical. Uncomplicated, and versatile enough to go with many dishes.

In our climate, light, cool and smooth is the perfect match for my palate.

Well, I am not going to dispute Mr. Stevenson, I agree, wine, even less expensive ones, can certainly be poetic.

This wine will remain on my shelf and I will be adding Vouvray from this label in the near future. 

A votre sante!



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