2014 Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts Øko La Soufrandière

• 90P - Vinousmedia.com v/Stephen Tanzer oktober 2016: "Pale yellow. A more exotic, more southern Mâconnais nose offering terrific lift to its ripe orange zest aroma. Very rich and ripe on the palate, with soft citrus fruits dominating. Doesn't display quite the cut of the Les Longeays but shows a lovely sugar/acid balance nonetheless and conveys an impression of slow ripening of the fruit. Not hugely complex but thick and very long. One can almost drink this wine today, but a few years of cellaring will bring more intriguing truffle and saline qualities."
• 90P - Wine Enthusiast Magazine oktober 2016: "This Becky Wasserman selection is bright, tangy and full of fruit. Apples and crisp pear flavors come through the spiciness to give an attractive, ripe biodynamic wine from the highest and stoniest part of the vineyard slope. It has a delicious aftertaste of fragrant citrus and minerality. The 2014 vintage is dedicated to Marc-Antoine Bret."
• 91-92P - Vinousmedia.com v/Stephen Tanzer December 2015: "Pale, slightly hazy lemon-yellow. Pristine aromas of lemon zest, white grapefruit, powdered stone, mint and lavender: very limestone in character (the rock layer here is roughly a meter below the surface, and sometimes even closer, says Jean-Guillaume, adding that he and his brother have plowed the soil here with horses since 2008. Tactile, powerful limestone wine with intense citrus character and superb acidity for Vinzelles. Conveys lovely inner-mouth aromatic perfume and lift and finishes with a light touch."
• 90-92P - Bourghound oktober 2015: "(from vines between 40 and 65 years of age). In contrast to the prior wines this is quite firmly reduced which renders the nose impossible to read. On the plus side there is slightly more size, weight and richness to the medium-bodied flavors that possess even more minerality on the mouth coating, citrusy and impressively long finale. This is actually a bit less complex than the Longeays but there is more underlying material here and my predicted range offers the benefit of the doubt that more depth will develop with time in bottle. 2019+"
• Druesorter: 100% Chardonnay
• Jordbundsforhold: ler, kalk og limsten.
• Fadlagring: 100% 11 mdr. på nye franske egefade.
• Drikkeklar: Ved frigivelse og op til 5 år fra høståret.
• Anbefales til: Aperitif, skaldyr, fiskeretter, lyst kød så som kylling, salater, faste oste.

Domaine de la Soufrandière - Bret Brothers - haute couture hvidvine fra Bourgogne Brødrende Bret eller Bret Brothers som de selv kalder sig - er verdensberømte i det Sydlige Bourgogne. Her laver de siden år 2000 nogle af de bedste hvide Bourgognevine overhovedet. På under 15 år har skabt sig et ry ved at lave verdensklassevine på druer fra forholdvis ukendte appellationer. Deres produktion er delt i 2 dele: Det familiejede Domaine de la Soufrandière (økologisk og biodynamisk certificeret siden 2003) og deres négociantvirksomhed.

Domaine de la Soufrandière: Macon, Pouilly og Beaujolais

Familiens domaine består blot af 4 ha i Pouilly-Vinzelles (en mark kaldet " Les Quarts "), 0,55 ha i Pouilly-Vinzelles, en mark kaldet " Les Longeays ". Dertil kommer 3 ha i Beaujolais-Leynes. Alle vinmarker er mindst 23 år gamle og nogle en del over 80 år gamle. Alle er beliggende i den midterste eller øverste del af en stor Sydøstvendt skråning. Terroir består af ler og limsten.

Økologiske og biodynamiske vine

"Exceptional Grapes for Exceptional Wines" er brødrenes motto ud fra devisen at man kan ikke lave topkvalitet uden at arbejdet starter i marken. Derfor har brødrene siden år 2000 iværksat et biodynamisk og økologisk program. Man pløjer med hest, anvender kun økologisk kompost, alt markarbejde og vinhøst udføres manuelt så vidt muligt. Udbyttet er også lavere end i appellationen, nemlig kun 40 hl/ha i modsætning til de 50hl+20% som accepteres af appellationen Pouilly-Vinzelles. Man høster og vinificerer parceller separat for at holde kvaliteten i top.

Bret Brothers: Haute couture négociantvine

Bret Brothers blev startet i august 2001 for at udbrede beskeden om at det sydlige Bourgogne kan frembringe hvidvine i verdensklasse. Der laves fortrinsvis mikrocuvéeer: fra 900 til 4000 flasker af hver vin (til hele verden). Brødrene har strenge kvalitetskrav: man køber kun druer som stadig er på vinstokkene, og høster derefter alt selv, laver vinen selv. Disse vine fremstilles med samme omhu og passion som vinene fra Domaine de la Soufrandière. Der udvælges kun pareceller fra 0,15 til 0,50 ha. Brødrende Bret har opstillet følgende ligning som symboliserer deres drueselektion: 1 vin = 1 parcel = 1 vinbonde (hvor man køber druer på vinstokken).

Erfaring fra verdensberømte producenter

Hele virksomheden drives af de to brødre Jean-Philippe og Jean- Guillaume Bret. Begge er højtuddannede ønologer med arbejdserfaring fra en perlerække af producenter inden de overtog familiedomainet i 2000: Château La Gardine (Châteauneuf-du-Pape), De Loach (Sonoma Valley), Newton (Napa Valley), Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Médoc), Ridge / Lytton Springs (Sonoma Valley, Californie) - Far Niente (Napa Valley) og Domaine des Comtes Lafon (Meursault).

Ros fra Burghound

Allan Meadows skriver i Burhound bl.a. om domainet: "I probably sound like a broken record by repeating that the quality at this domaine/négociant operation continues to do nothing but climb but if you´re not familiar with the Soufrandière or Bret Brothers wines, you´re missing out on some terrific examples that sell at very reasonable prices. Part of the reason for the top quality despite being primarily a négociant operation is the way that the Bret brothers have created true partnerships with their growers".

2 stjerner i Revue du vin de France

Domaine de la Soufrandière har opnået 2 ud af 3 mulige stjerner på blot 14 år, hvilket er helt uhørt og er ubestridt nr. 1 i Pouilly-Vinzelles appellationen.

Flot omtale i Robert Parker

Robert Parker's the Wine Advocate skriver august 2013: " In tandem with building up their own domaine, they established a successful negociant business named "Bret Brothers" (apparently so-called after Jean-Marie Guffens referred to them as such when introducing them). Walking out into the vineyard with Jean-Philippe Bret, he explained how they have been certified biodynamic (ECOCERT) and strictly control the vines of contracted growers. Theirs is a simple equation: 1 wine equals 1 Parcel equals 1 Winemaker (except the Macon-Villages). In total they produce around 40,000 bottles per annum, though this is broken down into 18 micro-cuvees between 900 and 4,000 bottles each, using indigenous yeasts and eschewing new oak during elevage. These wines have a solid following on both sides of the Atlantic and form a perfect introduction to terroir-driven Macon wines as each has its own personality."