Domaine Carrette

Wines By Region / Burgundy / Mâconnais / Pouilly Fuissé

Domaine Carrette

This is a new domaine for us that we discovered during a trip to France in March 2023. Domaine Carrette Is located in the village of Vergisson, at the foot of the famous rock of Solutré, which many consider the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé. Their 40 plots are spread over fourteen hectares, eight of which are in Pouilly-Fuisse and three of which are in the neighboring St. Veran.

©Sharon Kelly

In 1980, Henri Carrette, a farmer-sharecropper, managed to buy several hectares of vines in Vergisson. His son, Jean-Michel, built up the winery to its present size, but in the early days, almost all the wine was sold in bulk. Estate bottling began seriously in 2008 and is now run by Jean-Michel’s son, Hervé, and his oenologist wife, Nathalie, a native of Alsace. Herve works largely in the vineyards and the cellar, while Nathalie follows the development of the wines, having studied science and winemaking at the University of Montpellier.

The Carrettes work very carefully in the vineyard and prefer to protect their plants with organic products (they became certified in 2023) and use traditional plowing to improve air circulation. The grapes are hand-harvested. In the cellar, a cold soak and soft pressing helps bring forth clear fruit aromas. Spontaneous fermentation takes place with native yeasts, and the wines go through malolactic fermentation. The wines then age on their lees and are bottled in spring or summer, depending on the cuvée. These are lovely wines of great purity and typicity, reflective of their clay-limestone soils and of their individual sites.

Domaine Carrette Pouilly Fuissé 2021
The Pouilly-Fuissé 2021 is lively and vivacious, with plenty of stony, mineraled notes. Floral and with ripe apple fruit, it is ideal with medium weight fish like red snapper or rock fish, or chicken cordon bleu.

Domaine Carrette Pouilly Fuissé Ronchevat 2021
The Pouilly-Fuisse Ronchevat 2021 (the name is in reference to a field of uncleared shrubs) has more rock in the soil, highly conducive to growing lively chardonnay. Vines are 35 to 65 years old, at 320 meters altitude, and are planted along a steep slope. This wine is aged in oak (10% new) for 10 to 12 months, and shows notes of ripe fruit (peach, mango), toasted bread, fresh butter, and a hint of spice (cinnamon and white pepper). On the palate, the wine is powerful and beautifully structured, making it an ideal partner for richer fish (halibut, salmon), as well as a blanquette de veau (veal stew).