Domaine Francis Blanchet Calcite Pouilly-Fumé 2020 Pouilly-Fumé, Loire, France 75cl

Domaine Francis Blanchet is a grower in Pouilly-sur-Loire, in the eastern Loire, where Sauvignon Blanc takes on the smoky, mineral guise that gives Pouilly-Fumé its name and its following.

The Calcite cuvee is named for the limestone that dominates its vineyards, in particular the chalky Kimmeridgian marls that run through the district. That soil is the whole point here, lending the wine its stony backbone and its sense of place. It is pure Sauvignon Blanc, made fresh and unoaked so the terroir speaks clearly.

The 2020 vintage in the Loire was warm and even, giving ripe, healthy Sauvignon with plenty of aromatic drive while keeping the crucial acidity intact.

Expect a precise, mineral-driven white with fresh lemon and green apple fruit, a whisper of white peach and the flinty, gunsmoke note the appellation is loved for, all finishing dry, taut and long. It is more about cut and clarity than weight.

Pouilly-Fumé is one of the great food whites, and this is a natural with goat’s cheese, oysters, grilled sea bass and asparagus. If you enjoy crisp, mineral Sauvignon Blanc, this is the style at its most characterful.