Discover the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation
and its cuvée from Hospices de Beaune

The style of Pouilly Fuissé wines

Pouilly-Fuissé wines are emblematic expressions of Mâconnais Chardonnay, characterized by a harmonious balance between richness, roundness and freshness. They offer highly distinctive aromatic profiles, combining purity of fruit with a subtle minerality derived from limestone and marl soils.

In their youth, Pouilly-Fuissé reveal aromas of apple, pear, white peach and citrus, accompanied by delicate floral notes and sometimes a touch of hazelnut or almond. The palate is full and silky, with an elegant structure that blends roundness with refreshing acidity for tension and balance.

With a few years' cellaring, these wines develop more complex nuances of fresh butter, honey, dried fruit and sweet spices, without ever losing their liveliness or the mineral precision that is the appellation's signature. The best Pouilly-Fuissé - of which the Cuvée Françoise Poisard is an undeniable part - thus offer a subtle marriage of power and elegance, with persistent aromatic length and an ageing potential of 5 to 10 years, sometimes more in great vintages.

Buy a Pouilly Fuissé wine at the Hospices de Beaune auction with Albert Bichot

In this Mâconnais appellation, around 70 km from Beaune and the Hôtel-Dieu, the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune auctions off a single cuvée each year: Pouilly Fuissé Cuvée Françoise Poisard. Albert Bichot is one of its loyal buyers! We offer two auction purchase options, from a single bottle to a complete barrel. You'll also find our older vintages immediately available on our online store.

The terroir of Pouilly-Fuissé

The Pouilly-Fuissé terroir, located in southern Burgundy in the heart of the Mâconnais region, is distinguished by its steep slopes and varied soils, mainly composed of Jurassic limestone, rich in marine fossils and sometimes mixed with clay or marl. These deep, well-drained soils enable Chardonnay to develop both richness and finesse, with a highly distinctive aromatic expression.

The vineyards benefit from predominantly south and south-east exposure, favoring optimal ripening of the grapes while preserving the natural freshness of the fruit. The uneven topography of the plots, combined with a temperate, continental climate, creates microclimates that accentuate the complexity and balance of the wines. In the end, this terroir gives the wines elegant roundness and refreshing tension, two highly complementary sensations.

Thanks to its excellent price/pleasure ratio, we buy this lovely Pouilly Fuissé Cuvée Françoise Poisard at almost every Hospices de Beaune sale. As with all the Hospices de Beaune wines we buy at auction, we take the greatest care in our cellars in Beaune to mature these great wines for a great cause, to reveal the wine during this phase of patience and precision. To find out more, click here.

Pouilly-Fuissé climats within the Hospices de Beaune estate

• Pouilly Fuissé Cuvée Françoise Poisard: Les Plessys, Les Robées, Les Chevrières

Map of the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation

Etymology & history

The Pouilly-Fuissé appellation derives its name from the association of two villages in southern Burgundy, Pouilly and Fuissé, located in the heart of the Mâconnais region. The term "Pouilly" generally derives from the Latin Pauliacum or Polliacum, which referred to the rural estate of a Gallo-Roman landowner named Paullius or Pollius, while "Fuissé" comes from the Latin Fussiacus, also evoking an ancient Gallo-Roman villa. These toponyms testify to a long history of agricultural occupation, dating back to antiquity, well before the region's winegrowing boom.

Viticulture really took off in the Middle Ages under the influence of religious communities, notably the Benedictine monks of the Abbaye de Cluny, who structured the vineyards and selected the best plots. Thanks to their work, the south-facing limestone slopes gradually acquired a reputation for quality white wine production.

In the XVIIIᵉ and XIXᵉ centuries, Pouilly-Fuissé wines gained in notoriety, particularly with Lyon and Paris merchants. Despite the phylloxera crisis at the end of the XIXᵉ century, the vineyard is replanted predominantly with Chardonnay, a grape variety that becomes the very identity of the appellation.

The appellation was officially recognized in 1936 with the creation of the AOC, consecrating Pouilly-Fuissé as one of the major references for white wines in the Mâconnais. More recently, in 2020, an internal hierarchy was introduced with the recognition of climats classified as Premier Cru, underlining the diversity and precision of this historic terroir.

It's an appellation we particularly appreciate at Albert Bichot. We are delighted to buy Pouilly Fuissé Cuvée Françoise Poisard at the Hospices de Beaune auctions, and then age the wine in our historical Beaune cellars, preserving its balance of delicacy and finesse.

Discover all the appellations of the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune

Key facts about the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation