Domaine Moreux-Corty: Pouilly-Fumé purists plus the 2019s and 2020s tasted

Arnaud Moreux is passionate about ska, and a skilled trumpet player. His twin brother Julien is a keen angler. But those enthusiasms pale in comparison to the devotion they show their family vineyard.

The brothers, now in their late 30s, took over from their father Patrice a decade ago, and are single-minded in their pursuit of a pure, terroir-driven style.

The family owns 6ha in Sancerre, and a domaine in Provence, Château des Vingtinières, purchased in 1996. But the main holdings, and focus, are on the 34ha of vines in Pouilly-Fumé.

Scroll down for Domaine Moreux-Corty’s Pouilly-Fumé 2019/20 tasting notes and scores

History

The origins of Domaine Moreux-Corty date back more than 300 years to 1677 when Edme Corty laid the foundations of a small estate in Pouilly sur Loire. Thirty years later in 1702 André Moreux bought his first vines, but on the other side of the Loire, in Sancerre. These two holdings were united many years later in 1955 by the marriage of Jeannine Corty and Raymond Moreux, direct descendants of Edme and André.

Patrice Moreux, the only son of Jeannine and Raymond, took over at the estate in 1979. He looked to ‘preserve, improve and build on his inheritance’. In 1996 he purchased Château des Vingtinières in the Côte de Provence appellation from which a red, white and rosé are produced.

Today the estate is run by Patrice’s sons, Arnaud and Julien Moreux, who have worked respectively at the family domaine since 2009 and 2011.

Diverse terroirs

The domaine offers a range of Pouilly-Fumé bottlings to reflect the diverse terroirs at their disposal, including Silex (from flint soils) and Cailottes (from stony limestone soils rich with fossils). The entry-level wine, Intro, is blended from Sauvignon Blanc vines across the estate holdings, while the flagship, La Loge aux Moines, is named for its single-vineyard source. 

The jewel in the family crown, this 4.5ha single plot, on a south-facing slope overlooking the Loire river, is owned in its entirety by the Moreux family and was given to Jeannine and Raymond as a wedding present in 1955.

The soils in La Loge aux Moines are Kimmerdigian marl, and contain the highest proportion of active limestone (40%) in the entire Pouilly-Fumé appellation – 15-20% is usually considered a high proportion here. It has long been recognised as a special site, and was the first in the appellation to be cultivated by Benedictine monks, back in the 11th century – hence the name, ‘The Monks’ Lodge’. 

Authentic expression

‘It’s an incredible site, which is very slow to express its terroir,’ says Arnaud Moreux. Terroir expression is at the heart of everything the brothers do, and with all the wines made in the same way (natural fermentation, native yeasts, working to the lunar cycle, and chemical free as far as possible), the differences between them are a direct reflection of the soils from which they come. 

‘There are two types of wine in the world,’ says Arnaud: ‘technological wine and terroir wine. You can find both types in every wine region, but terroir wines account for about 5% of world production. If the nose is more generous than the aftertaste, it’s a technological wine; vice versa, and it’s a terroir wine.

‘Great Pouilly-Fumé should be a terroir wine,’ he emhpasises. ‘Many winemakers in the region today are going in a New World direction stylistically, but we’re looking for minerality, richness and structure. We’re not here to produce perfect wine – we’re here to produce pure wine. Purity for me is perfection.’

The wines

These are young wines still, and Arnaud urges patience. ‘With terroir wines you have to wait at least three years, and then leave it in your glass for 15 minutes after pouring.’ Of the range, the Intro is unsurprisingly the most accessible, being noticeably more fruit driven than the others.

But all the wines have an incredible sense of place, purity and precision – this is Sauvignon Blanc for those who favour restraint and complexity over overt aromatics.

The wines of Domaine Moreux-Corty are imported to the UK by Vin Cognito and Colombier Wines.

See the tasting notes and scores for Domaine Moreux-Corty’s Pouilly-Fumé 2019/20s

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