Pouilly-Fuissé Les Brûlés 2015

Called Les Brls, the burnt, because of its full-on southern exposure, this vineyard has produced a rich style of wine in this warm vintage. The wine is toasty, creamy as well as packed with generous peach and apple fruit. This is an easy wine to drink now, although it will be even better when aged. Drink from 2019.

(aged for a year in 100% new oak): Bright light yellow. Aromas of peach, soft citrus fruits and sweet nuts with an obvious overlay of spicy, vanillin oak. Very rich, sweet, layered wine with terrific opulence, depth and spicy lift to its ripe stone fruit flavors. Sweeter and more tactile than the Combettes but with good fresh acidity for the vintage. This velvety, fine-grained wine shows the ripeness of south-facing vines. But it's also quite smooth and not at all phenolic, with the high alcohol of the vintage nicely buffered by strong extract. There's a finishing citrus edge here but it won't get in the way of enjoying this otherwise seamless wine over the next six or seven years for its ripe fruit.

The 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Brûlés comes from the south-facing vines, and it was the first to be harvested this vintage. "It is a challenging parcel because when it is a cold season you have to harvest late because of the clay soils, but when it is warm you have to harvest earlier than other [parcels]," Antoine Vincent explained. It is matured in 100% new oak with batonnage twice per month. It has a powerful bouquet, with orange rind, grilled almond and a touch of lemongrass that burst from the glass. The palate is slightly viscous on the entry, a slight honeyed texture, powerful and generous with notes of mango, citrus lemon, a light tang of Seville orange marmalade and just a slight bitter tang on the finish. Not a shy or retiring number, it deserves a couple of years in bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2029.

This is intense, with a creamy texture enveloping butterscotch, peach and apple pie flavors. Gains freshness and tension as the lemon- and spice-tinged aftertaste unfolds. Best from 2018 through 2024. 100 cases imported.

A very generously wooded nose includes plenty of toast and vanilla characters and it frankly fights somewhat with the ripe essence of pear and floral scents. The wood extends to the opulent, even lush and viscous flavors that coat the palate with dry extract before concluding in an impressively complex and long finale. This is not at all my style but it is well done in its super rich, unctuous and lavishly oaked manner. That said, I would not be inclined to age this for more than 2 to 3 years as it risks becoming heavy if held for the longer-term.