Château du Clos

Château du Clos is exceptional in many ways. It is located in Pouilly-Fuissé – southwest of Mâcon, in Burgundy – and is one of only five organically certified estates there. In the fragmented Burgundy region, Château du Clos has a three-hectare contiguous vineyard, a true clos, on the slope surrounding the estate in Pouilly. High-quality Chardonnay has been produced here since the eighteenth century. Owner Jean-François Combier is therefore the eighth generation at this company, which has always been owned by the same family since it was founded in 1782.

All energy goes to the vineyard
The wine estate has a modest appearance. All energy goes to the vineyard and the wine. The vines are rooted in chalk marl covered with a thin layer of clay, which is somewhat deeper in the lower parts of the vineyard. After a manual harvest, the grapes are crushed and pressed, after which spontaneous fermentation takes place in pièces (228-litre barrels). A maturation period of fifteen to eighteen months follows, and finally the wines are lightly filtered and bottled. They are pure, refined, complex and of course pure Chardonnay. After all, there is very little between the grapes, the terroir and the final wine: the number of interventions in the wine cellar is kept to a minimum.

Hommage à Léonard Chandon
In order to keep the link with the past alive, Château du Clos produces a special cuvée every year from the oldest vines – sixty to eighty years old – in a very small edition. It bears the name Hommage à Léonard Chandon. The brother of this ancestor of Jean-François Combier was married to Adelaïde Moët and indeed, they were at the cradle of the champagne house Moët & Chandon. A fantastic Burgundy, full of restrained power, with salty and smoky notes and a long, intense finish.