[WTN] Alain Cailbourdin 2005 Pouilly-Fume Triprtyque

Bought from my local wine retailer on special offer. First time I've had Pouilly-Fume.

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Very pale and straw coloured in the glass. As is usual for white wines, I have trouble getting much scent off this, maybe because it's chilled. A little hint of grass and meadow flower perhaps.

There's good depth of flavour in the palate and quite a noticeable character of woody oak and honeysuckle and a strange, hard-to-place vegetable character. But there's very little fruit - some greengage is all I could find. As is typical for Sauvignon Blanc, acid is high and it really catches you in the throat as you swallow. The finish is fairly long and very pleasant - the oak character really comes through with some buttery spice.

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An odd wine this, and a very mixed big. Miles away from the big flavours of NZ Sauvignon, which I'm rather more familiar with, and would be nothing at all without what is clearly some very lovingly applied oak treatment.

Very pale and straw coloured in the glass. As is usual for white wines, I have trouble getting much scent off this, maybe because it's chilled. A little hint of grass and meadow flower perhaps.

There's good depth of flavour in the palate and quite a noticeable character of woody oak and honeysuckle and a strange, hard-to-place vegetable character. But there's very little fruit - some greengage is all I could find. As is typical for Sauvignon Blanc, acid is high and it really catches you in the throat as you swallow. The finish is fairly long and very pleasant - the oak character really comes through with some buttery spice.

An odd wine this, and a very mixed big. Miles away from the big flavours of NZ Sauvignon, which I'm rather more familiar with, and would be nothing at all without what is clearly some very lovingly applied oak treatment.

Sounds strange. Pouilly Fume is often known for being "flinty" and less about fruit than Sancerre, let alone NZ. But, no fruit, vegetable flavors, and woody oak, in a 2005, frankly sounds like a poorly-made wine, or at least a bottle not showing very well. Perhaps you should seek out some other Pouilly Fume wines to get a broader sense of the appellation.

Sounds strange. Pouilly Fume is often known for being "flinty" and less about fruit than Sancerre, let alone NZ. But, no fruit, vegetable flavors, and woody oak, in a 2005, frankly sounds like a poorly-made wine, or at least a bottle not showing very well. Perhaps you should seek out some other Pouilly Fume wines to get a broader sense of the appellation.

Hmm. My bad - turns out I hadn't given it enough air time. I'm not in the habit of even decanting white, let alone leaving it to breathe but overnight in the fridge, this bottle transformed completely. Next day there was plenty of minerals in the flavour and very clear notes of apple too, although the floral and oak aspects were still very much in evidence. The result was a pretty impressive wine with good complexity.