Swill or Swell: Episode 12

Villevert Pouilly Fume

Watch the episode here

Welcome to Swill or Swell, a weekly series where I taste grocery store wines and let you know if they’re worth the buck or just meant for the drain!

CAVEAT! As you read this, please keep in mind that wine is subjective! This means that everyone enjoys different things and something I like might not be something you like and vice versa. I’ll be as objective as I can with facts about the wine’s quality, but in the end if your opinion differs from mine...that’s perfectly fine! Wine is only worth drinking if YOU like drinking it!

LET’S INTRODUCE THE WINE

Today I’ll be tasting the Villevert Pouilly-Fumé Cuvée Silex. Let me just break does this name real quick. Villevert refers to the producer. Pouilly-Fumé refers to the region. Cuvée Silex refers to a fantasy type of soil the grapes were grown in (rock/flint).

Purchased from Trader Joe’s for $14.99, a little more expensive than what I have been tasting, but let’s see if it’s truly worth the buck!

VILLEVERT POUILLY FUME FUN FACTS

Let’s start by talking about the Sauvignon Blanc varietal.
- This varietal is light and crisp
- It’s grown in cool to moderate climates
- It’s known for high acidity and citrus flavors
- It’s actually the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon

​Now let’s talk a little about the Pouilly Fumé, Loire Valley, France region.
- The Central Loire Valley is directly East of Sancerre. This region is Just as good, but lesser known which leads to better prices!
- This regions wines are most known for smoke (fumé) and gunflint aromatics and for being very mineral driven
- This is the only city which drinks more wine in the world than Buenos Aires is Paris
- A major factor which facilitated the development of the Argentinean winemaking industry was the arrival of the Transandine Railway in Mendoza in 1885. The railway allowed wines to be exported from Mendoza to the greater market of Buenos Aires.

WINE TASTING NOTES

Look: Very light straw
Smell: Burnt popcorn - aka smoke & gunflint, grapefruit, vanilla lotion
Taste: A bit bland, with an odd aftertaste...kinda like lemon water. Medium acidity, medium body, high alcohol, stereotypical white wine flavor.
Think:
Food Pairing - Fried and grilled foods, especially grilled eggplant, because of its smokiness
Occasion - I would bring it to a get together for me, but I don’t think I’d introduce it to all of my friends
Rating - When I first tasted it, I was leaning towards swill. But, I had first tried it when it was straight out of the fridge. After it warmed up a little, the flavors really came out, and I would give it a swell!

Want to learn more? Check out my Instagram every Thursday at 5PM PST for a new episode of Swill or Swell! Have a wine you’d like me to taste? Write your request in the comments below or send me a message on Instagram!

Cheers!