Domaine Saumaize, Pouilly-Fuisse Pentacrine 2016

The spectacular, crystalline wines of Roger Saumaize and his wife, Christine Michelin come from 10 hectares of vines, mostly in the Vergisson area of Pouilly-Fuiss�. It�s a very small operation; Roger and Christine work with a team of four people. Roger repeated several times that his �first goal is the optimum expression of terroir,� and tasting is believing. They make ten distinct Pouilly-Fuiss�, two Saint-V�ran, one Vir�-Cless�, and two M�con wines.Saumaize-Michelin has followed organic farming for twenty years and they have been practicing biodynamic farming since 2005, which is quite unique in the region, where herbicide use is common. Their vines average 50 years old and the philosophy of the farming is to,in Roger's words, 'capture the energy of the place'. All of the grapes are hand-harvested and depending on the vintage and parcel, may be picked in several passes. In the cellar, there is a gentle and slow pressing in two pneumatic presses. After the juice has settled for a day, it�s moved right into barrel for fermentation and aging. Wines are aged on the lees with occasional stirring for twelve months.The single-vineyard Pouilly-Fuiss� wines are gorgeous expressions of their distinct terroir and many of them will soon be classified as 1er Cru sites per the INAO.