All the way up in the Upper Loire Valley, pretty much central France, almost near Burgundy (or Bourgogne) in fact, sits a historic estate with a medieval castle - we're at Chateau de Tracy!

Chateau de Tracy is one of the oldest actively producing family-owned estates in the Loire Valley, tracing is history as far back as the 14th Century. The estate is today 33 hectares in size and is scattered across the Pouilly-sur-Loire, producing dry white wines under the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. The terroir of the area can be characterised as what's known as Kimmeridgian - that's soils with a good amount of flinty clay, limestone and marls, which makes for high quality white wines that express more elegance, minerality and acidity, when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc. The estate is currently under the helm of Juliette d'Assay who aims to produce Sauvignon Blancs that are what she calls "Gastronomical Sauvignon" - refined, delicate and precise.

Today the historic Chateau de Tracy vineyards are tended to by Juliette d'Assay.

Worth noting is the history of Chateau de Tracy, which gets its start from a Scottish noble family, the Stutt's. The Stutt's were four brothers who had commandeered a large army from Scotland in support of the future King Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years War, and were eventually naturalised as a way of appreciation from the French King, and would go under their new gallicised name d'Estutt. They were thus allowed to settle on the Tracy area of the Upper Loire where vines had been cultivated since the late 1300's.

One of the d'Estutt brothers would marry a Françoise de Bar, or Lady of Tracy, which would extend the countship of the region under the d'Estutt's. The d'Estutt's were a fairly prominent family in politics, and whose children would find themselves married into other well-known families as well, from General Lafayette's son to Isaac Newton's niece. The d'Estutt's would even maintain a friendship with Thomas Jefferson, supporting America's growing movement for independence through offering up written works on constitutional problems and the defence of political freedom.

Chateau de Tracy traces its history back to the 14th Century.

And while wine production had been active throughout the time, largely for the family's own enjoyment, it wasn't really until the 1950's that Comte Alain d'Estutt d'Assay and his wife Jacqueline de Tracy had decided to bring the family's vineyards into the modern age. They restored and rejuvenated the Chateau de Tracy vineyards, and today their daughter Juliette continues on that legacy, bringing to it an organic touch as well.

So with all that said, we're going to try today the Mademoiselle de T from Chateau de Tracy - its a Pouilly-Fume Sauvignon Blanc white. Let's go!

Chateau de Tracy, Pouilly-Fume Mademoiselle de T 2022 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Very Light Straw

Aroma: A light barnyard funkiness, horse hide, as well as some light chalk, with fresh green fruits of gooseberries and green grapes. It's rustic and has a very natural feel to it, it's off-dry, with a chalk and flint minerality to it, light acidity, and at time nuggets of more concentrated green grape gummy sweetness. Also some vine leaves, giving it an added leafy greenness. At the back there's a bed of yellow raisins. 

Taste: Much richer here, medium sweetness, really rounded with a fuller body without being heavy or syrupy. Its body has a good buoyancy to it and a bounciness that gives a nice energetic quality. More on gooseberries, medium acidity, more chalk, honeysuckle florals, and yellow raisins as well.

Finish: More floral here - elderflower and honeysuckle, with a hit of pepper and a firm minerality, the greenness is also more prominent here.

My Thoughts

This dry style Pouilly-Fume has a very lovely rustic and natural quality to it - it's got a good vibrance and complexity, a balance between sweetness and acidity, and with some richness, it doesn't spill all over, rather it keeps a sort of preciseness with which you get a sense of the complexity and the terroir in layers - it's very detailed yet approachable. There's the rustic barnyard notes on the nose, the persistent green fruits giving a greenness and also freshness in the acidity, but also that firm mineral backbone. Really lovely complexity, very approachable, refreshing and crisp, still some richness to it, would go perfectly with seafood.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot