Here too there is moderate wood influence that includes toast and oak spice notes on the lemon peel and acacia blossom aromas. As with the Brûlés, this is a big and dramatic wine but in this case the imposing flavors possess outstanding precision and notably more minerality on the focused, serious, firm and hugely long finish. While certainly muscular, this does not lack for a certain refinement that renders this slightly more impressive and complete than its stable mate. I should note that while the wood is certainly present my score assumes that it will more completely integrate with time in bottle. Outstanding ♥

The 2010 Pouilly Fuissé Vieilles Vignes has a slightly fresher and more citrus driven bouquet with more mineralité than the 2011. The palate is crisp on the entry with very good tension. There are touches of truffle oil and wild mushroom beginning to creep in on the finish. This is not quite living up to my expectations from last year, perhaps because the 2012 and 2013 have thrown it into more focus. Still, this is a very impressive Pouilly-Fuissé that will repay bottle age. - Neal Martin