Region: Burgundy, FRA

Variety: Chardonnay

Organic farming

Based in Chaintre within the Pouilly-Fuisse appellation, Philippe is the third generation of Valette to craft wine of great precision, dimension and concentration through meticulous vineyard management and painstaking attention-to-detail in the cellar. In every second row they planted dense vegetation to protect the beneficial microorganisms that roam the vineyard. This practice also serves to create competition for the vines, causing them to burrow their roots deeper in search of minerals and nutrients, resulting in greater fruit concentration and complexity in the final wine. 

They employ both organic and biodynamic practices, adding little to no sulphur except where considered absolutely necessary. These wines can spend anywhere between two and six (or more!) years in barrel, only being released when given Philippe's scrupulous stamp of approval. These are layered, complex wines that make us stand to attention. To that end, don't judge them on the first sniff or sip as, like us, they take a little time to express themselves and appreciate your attention over a few hours.

'From 70-year-old vines and aged for 30 months in older barrels. The soil here is very rich in limestone and the vines are over eighty years old. This has both density and levity but with the Valette signature freshness and lively acidity. A serious wine that needs time and if drunk young some air. It will gain  complexity with time in the cellar.' - note from the importer, Andrew Guard