Pouilly-Fume Domaine Masson-Blondelet 2013

Pouilly-Fumé – a dry white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes – is one of the Loire Valley’s most revered wines. It is rivaled in this regard only by Sancerre, just the other side of the Loire River, and perhaps Vouvray.

The Pouilly-Fumé appellation was created in 1937 originally as Blanc Fumé de Pouilly. The village’s Chasselas-based wines gained the Pouilly-sur-Loire title at the same time.

Pouilly-Fume
Sauvignon Blanc and flint, Pouilly-sur-Loire
© Chateau de Tracy
The Pouilly-Fumé name is composed of two parts. ‘Pouilly’ is short for Pouilly-sur-Loire, the village the wines come from. ‘Fume’ is short for Blanc Fumé, which is the local nickname for Sauvignon Blanc. It is sometimes understandably confused with Pouilly-Fuissé (a Chardonnay-based wine from southern Burgundy).