Domaine Clos des Rocs - Macon-Loche En Près Forêt 2023

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Producer	Domaine Clos des Rocs
Country	France
Region	Burgundy
Subregion	Macon-Loche
Varietal	Chardonnay
Vintage	2023
Sku	12017337
Size	750ml

  

Olivier owns 1.6 hectares of 40-year-old Chardonnay in En Pres Forêt, situated at 240 meters altitude with sandy, stony soil atop schist mother-rock. Aged 90% in stainless steel and 10% in used 500-liter oak barrels, this cuvée is both generous and elegant, with a pronounced saline streak and the ability to evolve well for a decade or more in bottle.

You may be wondering why you haven’t previously heard about Pouilly-Loché, for which you can hardly be blamed. The entire appellation covers a mere 32 hectares, of which nearly 30% belongs to Clos des Rocs. To our knowledge, no estate-bottled wine from the appellation has appeared in the U.S. in the recent past, despite the fact that the AOC dates back to 1940 and enjoys a strong reputation locally in the Maconnais.

As this was our first serious exposure to a full range of cuvees from the appellation, we were eager to understand what, if any, differences in terroir would be evident in the glass. The soils are characterized by iron-rich clay and limestone, often with up to 30cm of dense limestone pebble dispersion at the surface. The resulting wines are leaner than their counterparts in neighboring Pouilly-Fuisse and carry a hint of earth, yet they are quite rich in mineral, with enough fruit density to properly support the robust structural elements. 

The estate counts 8.6 hectares of vines across seven parcels, principally in Pouilly-Loché, with plots in Macon-Loché and Pouilly-Fuissé rounding out the holdings. No chemical products are used in the vineyard and Olivier is committed to organic processes from start to finish, though he has chosen not to pursue certification. All grapes are manually harvested before a long pressing, followed by alcoholic fermentation using only indigenous yeasts.