Drink: Jean Marie Berthier Pouilly-Fumé
Racy Sancerre tends to get much of the star treatment when it comes to Loire whites. But Pouilly-Fumé, the sauvignon blanc-based wine made a few miles upstream on the Loire River's opposite bank, has its own virtues. This Domaine des Clairneaux 2013 from Jean Marie Berthier, which also happens to be the "Le Chéri" house white at the Rittenhouse restaurant by the same name, is a fine example.
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Racy Sancerre tends to get much of the star treatment when it comes to Loire whites. But Pouilly-Fumé, the sauvignon blanc-based wine made a few miles upstream on the Loire River's opposite bank, has its own virtues.
This Domaine des Clairneaux 2013 from Jean Marie Berthier, which also happens to be the "Le Chéri" house white at the Rittenhouse restaurant by the same name, is a fine example.
The warmer, lower-vintage altitude of the vineyard allows for more aromatic citrus notes on the nose - sweet Mandarin orange versus Sancerre's typical lemon.
The Fumé is still dry and cutting from its limestone and flinty (some would say "smoky") soil. But it's tempered by an almost lush texture with notes of vanilla and floral spice. It's a shade less bracing than shellfish-loving Sancerre, but this Pouilly is still an elegant choice for any seafood meal.
- Craig LaBan
Jean Marie Berthier Pouilly-Fumé 2013, $24.99 (code 47537) in Pennsylvania.