Pouilly-Fuissé, Marie Antoinette, Famille Vincent, Château-Fuissé, 2023
Pouilly-Fuissé, Marie Antoinette, Famille Vincent, Château-Fuissé, 2023
- White Still
- 75.0cl
- 13.0%
- Chardonnay
Château-Fuissé is the benchmark by which Pouilly-Fuissé is measured, and the Marie Antoinette cuvée sits right at the heart of what makes this domaine so compelling. Named with a characteristically Burgundian sense of occasion, it draws from older vines in some of the appellation's finest plots, delivering the kind of Mâconnais Chardonnay that makes you understand why the village got its own appellation upgrade in 2020. Ripe but not opulent, structured but not austere, it has that particular quality Fuissé does best: weight and freshness pulling in opposite directions and neither winning.
The 2023 vintage in the Mâcon was generous and warm, and this has the fruit to show for it — white peach, lemon curd, a little toasted brioche — but the wine's limestone backbone keeps everything honest. We think it's drinking well now and will continue to do so until 2032, though the next couple of years will see it at its most expressive as the oak settles in.
- ❖ ABV: 13.0%
Grapes
Chardonnay
Vintage report
The 2023 growing season in Burgundy unfolded like a cautionary tale about climate change, then pulled off a last-minute redemption that left everyone rather stunned. After a warm, early spring pushed budbreak ahead of schedule, the vines endured a thoroughly miserable summer of persistent rain and cool temperatures that had growers muttering darkly about rot and dilution. Just when things looked dire, September arrived with glorious sunshine and dry winds that concentrated the fruit and saved the harvest—though not without some frantic sorting in the cellars.
What emerged from this meteorological rollercoaster are wines that wear their vintage on their sleeve: Pinot Noirs with bright, singing acidity and red fruit that feels almost crystalline in its purity, whilst the Chardonnays show remarkable tension and mineral drive. The reds are drinking beautifully now if you fancy immediate pleasure, but we suspect the better villages and premiers crus will reward patience over the next decade. It's not a powerhouse vintage, but there's something genuinely charming about these wines—they remind us why we fell for Burgundy in the first place.
Tasting Notes
AppearancePale gold with a bright, clean rim and good viscosity.
NoseWhite peach and ripe pear lead, with lemon curd and a subtle thread of toasted brioche from well-integrated oak. There's a stony, almost chalky quality underneath that keeps the fruit from feeling soft.
PalateMedium-full in body with a satisfying roundness, but the acidity is alive and doing its job — keeping the ripe stone fruit fresh and the whole thing feeling precise. A faint saline mineral note surfaces mid-palate and stays.
FinishClean and medium-long, with citrus zest and that limestone minerality persisting well after the fruit has faded.
Overall impressionA confident, well-made Pouilly-Fuissé that earns its name — generous in 2023's warmth but never losing its backbone.
Food Pairings
In the Mâconnais, this would land on the table alongside a poulet de Bresse with a cream and morel sauce — the local combination of rich poultry and forest mushrooms is practically designed for wines like this. Freshwater fish from the Saône, particularly pike-perch in beurre blanc, is another natural pairing, the butter sauce mirroring the wine's own texture. Locals would also think nothing of opening a bottle with a plateau of Charolais charcuterie or a ripe Époisses, though the latter will give the wine a proper workout. Simpler but just as good: a gratin dauphinois with good butter.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 11-13°C — cold enough to feel refreshing, warm enough to let the texture and stone fruit show properly. No need to decant, though giving it 20 minutes in the glass to open up is worthwhile. A wide-bowled white Burgundy glass will do the most for it, giving the nose room to develop without letting the wine warm too quickly.
The vineyards around Fuissé sit on limestone and clay soils over the area's distinctive Jurassic limestone bedrock, which imparts the mineral, almost saline quality that separates a good Pouilly-Fuissé from a generic Mâcon-Villages. The slopes face broadly east and south-east at modest altitude, giving excellent sun exposure without the heat stress that can flatten a Chardonnay. The limestone drainage keeps vine stress in check, concentrating flavour while preserving the acidity that gives these wines their structure and their ability to age.
Pouilly-Fuissé is the Mâconnais's most celebrated appellation, a cluster of five communes — Fuissé, Solutré-Pouilly, Vergisson, Chaintré, and Davayé — producing Chardonnay of genuine distinction. In 2020, it gained its own Premier Cru system, the first in the Mâconnais, formally recognising the best-placed plots that producers like Château-Fuissé had long been bottling separately. Compared to the broader Mâcon-Villages, Pouilly-Fuissé demands more of the wine: richer, more structured, more age-worthy, yet without the prices of Meursault or Puligny across the hill in the Côte d'Or.
The 2023 growing season in Burgundy unfolded like a cautionary tale about climate change, then pulled off a last-minute redemption that left everyone rather stunned. After a warm, early spring pushed budbreak ahead of schedule, the vines endured a thoroughly miserable summer of persistent rain and cool temperatures that had growers muttering darkly about rot and dilution. Just when things looked dire, September arrived with glorious sunshine and dry winds that concentrated the fruit and saved the harvest—though not without some frantic sorting in the cellars.
What emerged from this meteorological rollercoaster are wines that wear their vintage on their sleeve: Pinot Noirs with bright, singing acidity and red fruit that feels almost crystalline in its purity, whilst the Chardonnays show remarkable tension and mineral drive. The reds are drinking beautifully now if you fancy immediate pleasure, but we suspect the better villages and premiers crus will reward patience over the next decade. It's not a powerhouse vintage, but there's something genuinely charming about these wines—they remind us why we fell for Burgundy in the first place.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Ripe white peach and lemon curd with a little toasted brioche from the oak, all kept honest by a stony, saline mineral quality that runs through to the finish. It has real weight without feeling heavy — that tension between richness and freshness is exactly what makes good Pouilly-Fuissé worth seeking out.
When should I drink this wine?
It's drinking well now and we'd happily open a bottle tonight. That said, it will hit its stride around 2028-2029 when the oak has fully settled in and secondary complexity starts to emerge. We'd drink it all up by 2032.
What food works best with it?
Cream-sauced poultry is the classic — poulet à la crème, chicken with morels, that sort of thing. It's also excellent with pan-fried fish in butter, risotto with truffle, or a good gratin. A ripe soft cheese at the end of a meal wouldn't go amiss either.
How should I serve it?
Aim for around 11-13°C. Straight from the fridge is a touch too cold — give it 10 minutes on the counter first. No need to decant, but a wide white Burgundy glass will make a real difference to how the nose opens up.
Is it worth cellaring?
Yes, modestly. This isn't a wine that needs years in the cellar, but it will reward two to four years of patience. The 2023 vintage was warm and generous, so there's plenty of fruit to carry it forward. Just don't leave it much past 2032.
Who makes this wine?
Château-Fuissé, in the hands of the Vincent family for five generations, is the most respected producer in Pouilly-Fuissé. Antoine Vincent continues the estate's tradition of making wines that take the appellation seriously — structured, site-specific, built to age rather than dazzle on opening.
Want to know more?
Discuss your requirements with our account managers, Jeremy & Jen
-
Personal Service
- Our team are always on hand to support you, taking orders online, by phone or email & responding to urgent requests.
- Our efficient warehouse & team of drivers always go the extra mile to deliver our wines to you.
- Our new, high-capacity warehouse ensures excellent availability of wines.
- Our new enterprise platform means hassle-free service, from inventory to billing.
-
Our Sales Team
Speak to one of our teamJeremy Cowan
After managing his own stores and a further stint in independent retail, Jeremy has dedicated 12 years to trade sales in the North West.
Jen Neilan
Twenty years in hospitality later, after curating the wine list for Manchester’s first Neapolitan pizza restaurant, and running a natural wine bar, Jen made the move to the other side of the table.