Domaine de Bel Air 2022 Pouilly Fumé

£17.60
Tasting notes
Well balanced with full and fruity mouth and a very persistent and lively finish. Ideal as an aperitif and with sea food.

Why we recommend this wine
A family-run winemaker with a ‘nurture nature’ approach and excellent wines.

The wine
Bel Air make three Pouilly Fumé, two from grapes grown of different types of soils and this wine which is from a variety of soil types. They closely monitor the maturity their vines (sugar level, acidity, tasting...) to choose the best possible date for harvest. Their cellar is designed to work by gravity rather than pumping from one part of the process to the next. The grapes are pressed with pneumatic wine presses which press wine very gently and produce a juice whose qualities are preserved. The juice is settled to become clear naturally by sedimentation under low temperatures. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and epoxy covered concrete tanks. After fermentation the wine rests on the lees for three or four months before racking, filtration and bottling.

The wine estate
Domaine de Bel Air own and cultivate fifteen hectares. Looking up their family name in the records of the parish of Pouilly they have identified a forebear described as a "vigneron" in 1635; difficult to know before that because the parish archives are not that good. Back then their vineyards were very fragmented, divided between many owners, renting or farming their own vineyards. The plots were very small as evidenced by the notarial acts.
bel-air-pouilly.com

Food and wine
The minerality and weight of the wine make it ideal for crustaceans, fuller bodied white fish, and goats cheese. Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here.

Did you know?
The term "fumé" or "smoked" has two implications: one linked to the grape and the other to the land. The Pouilly Fumé grape is derived from the sauvignon blanc, with egg-shaped berries in tight clusters. When mature, these berries are covered in a smoke-coloured, grey bloom, hence Blanc Fumé (smoked white) to describe the sauvignon grape or wines produced from it. The word “fumé” also refers to aromas and bouquet reminiscent of the famous gun flint aroma, released by rubbing two flints together, which comes from the vineyard soils.