White Burgundy for Every Day of the Week by Château Vitallis
Château Vitallis is in the town of Solutré surrounded by Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards in southern Burgundy’s Mâcon region. They can trace their origins back to 1835 when the Dutron family took over the domaine. The same family is still at the helm, with Denis Dutron in the driver’s seat and his son Maxime managing the winemaking responsibilities. They have an envious selection of vineyard holdings scattered across appellations focusing mainly on Pouilly-Fuissé.
Almost everyone in Burgundy—including the Mâconnais—was incredibly pleased with the 2022 vintage. Although it was one of the warmest vintages since 1949, it provided consistent weather and an abundant crop.
Vitallis’s entry-level offering, the 2022 Château Vitallis Macon-Fuissé $17.99, is a wonderful value, loaded with Asian pear, slight tropical notes, and a dash of oak. The subtle spice and warm fruit flavors all meld into a seamlessly engrossing offering.
The 2022 Château Vitallis St-Véran "A La Côte" $19.99 is the second vintage we have carried of this wine, and, from the amazing quality I have seen so far, I can tell this will be a staple of our portfolio for years to come. There is more depth, power, and structure here in the St-Véran than the Mâcon-Fuissé. The fruit is pure, ripe, and layered with excellent delineation and balance. This is an incredible wine for less than $20.
With four stunning Pouilly-Fuissés, there is sure to be a style and price that works for any Chardonnay lover in our stable of Château Vitallis wines. The 2022 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé "Les Vignes du Château" $26.99 sits less than a stone’s throw away from the Château in a walled-in vineyard with vines that average 35 years of age. The wine is aged for 11-12 months in 30% new oak. This deft oak application frames the abundant orchard fruit flavors with hints of tropical fruits and mineral notes. Layered and complex, this is a great introduction to the house style of Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé.
The 2021 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes $29.99 is sourced from vines as old as 85 years of age! The Vieilles Vignes is a wonderful example of how an excellent winemaker can make wines that bring out the best characteristics of even a challenging vintage. Cool weather translates here in the glass to racy acidity, with flowing fruit that runs the gambit from tropical to citrus notes. This lively wine is a window into what classic white Burgundies used to taste like.
A mere two years ago, the best Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards received 1er Cru classification. In Vitallis’s 1er Cru offerings, you can really see the top vineyards strut their stuff. The 2021 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Les Perrières" $36.99 comes from one such highly regarded vineyard site. With brilliant pear, mango, and orchard fruit notes, this richly textured wine is seamless and powerful all at once. It’s a great wine that proves you can drink fabulous 1er Cru white Burgundy for under $40.
A wine that blew me away this year is the 2021 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Pouilly" $36.99, which has shimmering fruit and great energy, lift and balance. This is a spectacular white that showcases all the fruit Pouilly-Fuissé has with mineral notes and finesse. These two 1er Crus prove why this appellation has been upgraded to 1er Cru status!
- Alex Pross, K&L Burgundy Buyer