20 Oct 2021

We are delighted to begin our Burgundy 2020 En Primeur offers with the rich, beautifully textured Pouilly-Fuissés of Domaine JA Ferret, a historic domaine, which pioneered single-vineyard wines in the region, capturing its enormous diversity of terroirs. 

The keywords for Ferret's 2020s are balance and elegance, despite the summer heat and low rainfall which affected the region.  In a great demonstration of why terroir matters in Pouilly-Fuissé, winemaker Audrey Braccini explains that even in nearby Vergisson, the rainfall was significantly lower than in Fuissé itself, where Ferret's 17 hectares of vineyards are located.  The growing season began with good groundwater reserves from the winter, with further well-timed rainfall at the end of July coming just in time to give the perfect conditions for the harvest, which started on 24th August. 

Burgundy expert Allen Meadows describes Ferret's 2020s as "excellent" and finds a wonderful mixture of power and elegance in them.  This is a big year for both the domaine and for Pouilly-Fuissé as a whole, with a new premier cru classification due to appear on labels when the 2020s are bottled (which at Ferret will be in February 2022); Les Perrières and Les Ménétrières will be both be labelled as premier cru...so this is the first ever opportunity to buy them in their newly ennobled state!

Meadows gives particularly long drinking dates for all three wines, suggesting they need five years or more to reach their best...a great indicator of their potential, though we think they could be enjoyed much sooner, from around 2 years after bottling, and Charles Curtis MW writing for Decanter agrees.  What this does point to though is the wisdom of planning your burgundy drinking well-ahead.  Remarkably, prices for the 2020s are unchanged from 2019, but we are already hearing continual reports of the impact of the tiny 2021 vintage, so expect prices to rise and availability to diminish. 

As we said last year, the richness of Ferret's wines make them a wonderful and affordable alternative to the classics from Chassagne and Meursault.  Availability of all three wines is limited, so please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to order.  

Ferret also offer their wines in half bottles, magnums and jeroboams, for a small surcharge, please let us know if this is of interest.

Offered en primeur, stock landing in the UK late autumn 2022.

Audrey Braccini introduces the 2020 vintage:

 

Producer Profile

Domaine J.A Ferret, Pouilly-Fuissé

Domaine J.A. Ferret is in the heart of Fuissé itself, with the Ferret family making wine in the village since the 1760s and owning the domaine since 1840.  After the Second World War Madame Jeanne Ferret took the decision to bottle the wines at the domaine, rather than selling them to negociants, a bold move at the time.  She ran the Ferret for over half a century, well into her eighties, and was joined by her daughter Colette in the 1990s.  In 2008 the family sold the estate to Maison Louis Jadot, but it continues to be run as a separate entity.  New investment and a brilliant new winemaker signal the intention to raise the game, both at Ferret and for the appellation as a whole. 

Audrey Braccini has been the start winemaker here for the last few years, making wines with the kind of mineral complexity usually found in the Côte d'Or, but with an added dimension of Maconnais sunshine lending richness to the wines.  She has just left to make wine with her husband at the legendary Clos Rougeard in the Loire and from 2022 Clément Robinet has taken over, with an equally impressive background, coming from Heritiers Comte Lafon.

Ferret's 18 hectares of vines are spread across many of the best sites in the village.  When we first visited, Audrey pointed out to us that Pouilly-Fuissé has more diversity of terroirs than any other appellation in Burgundy, but this is not reflected in the way that most of the production is bottled and labelled.  There is a long tradition at Ferret of recognising the importance of specific sites and Madame Ferret’s even created her own unofficial classifications of 'Tetes de Cru' and 'Hors Cru Classe' which corresponded (in her eyes) to premier and grand cru.  From the fresh, mineral style of "Les Perrieres" and "Tournant de Pouilly" (on limestone soils) to the richness of "Clos des Prouges", the wines exhibit their terroirs beautifully.  

After many years of lobbying the authorities and after many complex soil studies, the INAO has authorised a premier cru classification in Pouilly-Fuissés, to appear on labels from the 2020 vintage, with a number of Ferret's crus included.  Pouilly-Fuissés first grand cru may take a little longer...but, if and when it does come, it may well be one of Ferret's.