Pabiot’s first single-terroir Pouilly-Fumé comes from mature vines in Tracy-sur-Loire on caillottes, a weathered limestone soil of Portlandian origin with many stones on the surface. Specifically, Aubaine is hand-harvested from one hectare of Les Champs de Cris, sited high above the river on a plateau — a vineyard Pabiot describes as “a joy to work”. The winemaking for both the Aubaine and the Luminance is identical—hand-harvested grapes were pressed, naturally fermented and raised in concrete for 18 months—so the difference comes down purely to the two terroirs.
Aubaine translates as ‘something to appreciate’, and this cuvée is the marginally more approachable of the two single-vineyard wines we offer today. It’s an intense, no-holds-barred Pouilly, oozing all kinds of orange and yellow citrus and vinous drive. Pure and precise, there is class to burn and the finish tapers with tantalising length to a powdery, mineral close.