Claude Manciat (Formerly “Clos Noly”) Pouilly-Vinzelles 2019

Buy six or more $17.99

Buy 3 or more $18.99

All Else Sale $19.99

The secret to this wine’s incredible value lies in the name – “Pouilly-Vinzelles”. Sure, you recognize the “Pouilly”, as in “Pouilly-Fuisse”. But then, if you are like most, you lose attention on the “Vinzelles”. “Vinnie who? What’s got to do with my Pouilly-Fuisse?”

And you move on, leaving these glorious bottles to languish. But where there is consumer confusion and apathy, there is a spot for a deal!

Pouilly-Vinzelles actually shares a border with Pouilly-Fuisse. More than that, it shares the East facing scarp slope of Chaintre - you cannot tell where Fuisse ends and Vinzelles begins. Same soil, same exposure… same quality? I’d argue better quality than Fuisse at any given price point, because the producers of Vinzelles have to overcome brand apathy at the get-go.And they won’t ever gain any real traction in the marketplace because Vinzelles only has 15 domaines in an area 1/20th the size of Fuisse.

Simply, this is $40 Pouilly-Fuisse with a different label. And a way different price!

This wine comes from a vineyard just ¾ of an acre in size. Fermented in used oak barrels, this is as pure an expression of Vinzelles you will find. The yields at this Domaine are routinely 20-30 percent lower than what is allowed in each given appellation allowing Marie-Pierre Manciat to craft wines that are rich and powerful while remaining focused with an emphasis on the calcaire rich soils of each terroir.
 

And in the soon-to-be-legendary 2019 vintage, Marie-Pierre has delivered a stunning wine. High-toned mineral notes play alongside citrus peel in the nose. The wine is powerful and concentrated with ultra-ripe yellow fruits and tropical nuances but never without the calcaire driven edge. Super stuff!

Food options? Well, I came across these recommendations on the appellation website and my mouth hasn’t stopped watering… “a fine match for fried sea-fish or freshwater fish such as trout or pikeperch. But it also goes marvelously well with the Burgundian specialty of snails with butter, garlic, and parsley (escargots de Bourgogne), dumplings of freshwater pike (quenelles de brochet), tripe sausages, as well as choucroute which is sauerkraut served along with various sausages, bacon, pork, and potatoes. After 3 to 5 years in the bottle it would enhance chicken with wild morel mushrooms and white-meat dishes, matching their richness with its power and fullness. One might also try drinking it with chicken with a hundred garlic cloves or a breast of fattened duck with turnips. With the cheese-board it forms varied and original partnerships ranging from local or regional specialties to goat cheeses, Époisses,”
 

Or reply. The wine is available now in Chapel Hill. Thursday, as ordered, in Hillsborough.