Domaine Masson-Blondelet, 2016 Update
For many years I doubted whether I would ever find any domaines in Pouilly-Fumé, other than the very obvious Didier Dagueneau, that were worthy of anything other than a passing glance. Of course, part of the problem was that I hadn’t really set about exploring the appellation to the extent that was required. These days, of course, that has changed, at least partly. There are still surely many domaines here I have yet to discover, and I still have lots to learn about these ancient vineyards the origins of which probably lie back in Roman times. Nevertheless, I have made efforts over the past few years to visit the region and to taste a little more widely, and as a consequence I can no longer bemoan the absence of interesting, noteworthy and frankly delicious wine here. There are plenty, if you know where to look.
In this vein one worthwhile destination is Masson-Blondelet, a family-run domaine based in what might be regarded as the heart of the appellation, emblematically at least, Pouilly-sur-Loire. The wine that is etched on my memory is the 2012 Les Angelots, a beguiling creation with a flint-limestone backbone contrasted against a stunning body of exotic fruits. It is perhaps only natural that I should return to the domaine again (and again), in order to try to recapture that experience. Doing so led me to Pierre-François Masson (pictured) and his sister Mélanie, the new generation now largely responsible for the running of the domaine; happily, with two very good vintages under their belts in 2014 and 2015, they have any number of wines that can slake my thirst.
The Wines
On this occasion my tasting focused on the 2015 and 2014 vintages, looking at Pouilly-Fumé above all else (they also have a parcel of vines in Sancerre, by the way). I kicked off with the 2015 Villa Paulus, my tasting note for which has already been published in my Central Vineyards 2015 report and so I won’t reproduce it here. Thereafter I moved on to two others from the same vintage; the 2015 Les Angelots has all the peachy flesh of the vintage, along with purity and classic gunflint minerality, so it has immediate appeal. In this vintage I preferred it to the 2015 Les Pierre de Pierre, which seems a touch more gentle in its attack, but it is still a wine of extraordinarily good quality. These were both samples from vat, so my scores are ranged, but there is clearly super potential here. This is a very exciting vintage for the region overall, albeit in a richer style.
