Dom J.A. Ferret
Pouilly Fuisse
Maconnais
2020

The producer

Domaine J.A. Ferret, situated in the heart of Fuissé in southern Burgundy's Mâconnais region, has been a cornerstone of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation since its establishment in 1840. The estate gained prominence under Jeanne Ferret, who pioneered estate bottling and introduced a parcel-based classification system, designating select wines as "Tête de Cru" and "Hors Classe"—precursors to the official Premier Cru status granted to several of these plots in 2020. In 2008, Maison Louis Jadot acquired the 18-hectare estate, entrusting its management to Audrey Braccini, who upheld the tradition of female leadership until 2022. She was succeeded by Clément Robinet, formerly of Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon. The vineyards, planted exclusively with Chardonnay, span diverse soils—including limestone, clay, schist, and sandstone—contributing to the wines' complexity. Domaine Ferret employs sustainable viticulture practices, with hand-harvesting and meticulous vinification methods that include fermentation in stainless steel, concrete eggs, and French oak barrels. Their wines are celebrated for their balance of richness and minerality, reflecting both the estate's heritage and the unique terroir of Pouilly-Fuissé.

The wine

Domaine J.A. Ferret Pouilly-Fuissé is a benchmark white Burgundy produced from Chardonnay grown in the heart of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation in the Mâconnais subregion of southern Burgundy. The domaine cultivates approximately 18 hectares of vineyards, with parcels situated across some of the finest slopes in Fuissé, Solutré, and Vergisson—locations known for their limestone-rich soils that impart a distinct minerality to the wines.

In terms of production methods, Domaine Ferret practices sustainable viticulture, with hand-harvesting across all vineyard plots to preserve fruit integrity. The winemaking approach is meticulous and terroir-driven: the grapes undergo gentle pressing, followed by fermentation in a mix of stainless steel, concrete eggs, and French oak barrels (a portion of which are new, depending on the cuvée). This combination allows for a balance between freshness, texture, and complexity. The wines are then aged on the lees for up to 10–12 months with occasional bâtonnage (lees stirring), depending on the vintage and parcel.

The result is a refined, structured Chardonnay that showcases ripe orchard fruit, a creamy mid-palate, and a vibrant mineral backbone—hallmarks of the limestone terroir and the estate’s thoughtful, site-specific winemaking philosophy.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.