Appellation
Pouilly-Fumé
Identity card
VillageAOPWhite
Loire Valley › Centre-Loire · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Dry white only: at most 65 hl/ha, at least 10.5% natural alcohol.
- "Blanc fumé": the grey bloom on ripe Sauvignon berries.
- Pouilly-sur-Loire, from the same area, is a separate AOC made from Chasselas.
Grape varieties
White wine onlySauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc alone, known locally as "blanc fumé"
Production rules
65
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
6,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: On fine lees until at least 1 January after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 96 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 46 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 105 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Right bank of the Loire, valleys around Saint-Andelain
- Soils: Terres blanches, caillottes, flint and siliceous soils
- Climate: Degraded oceanic, 600 mm a year; the Loire moderates
Wine style
- citrus
- white flowers
- minerality
- finesse and freshness
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
13 December 2024
Arrêté du 13 décembre 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges des AOC « Pouilly-Fumé » ou « Blanc Fumé de Pouilly » et « Pouilly-sur-Loire » (JORF n°0298 du 18 décembre 2024, texte n°29 ; BO-Agri du 26 décembre 2024). Appellations initialement reconnues par le décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- Also labelled "Blanc Fumé de Pouilly"
- The geographical name "Val de Loire" may be added
- The name of a registered lieu-dit may appear on the label
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges des appellations d'origine contrôlées « Pouilly-Fumé » ou « Blanc Fumé de Pouilly » et « Pouilly-sur-Loire »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
On the right bank of the Loire, facing the Sancerre hills, Pouilly-Fumé — officially "Pouilly-Fumé" or "Blanc Fumé de Pouilly" — gathers seven communes of the Nièvre around the hill of Saint-Andelain. The appellation makes only dry, still white wines, from Sauvignon Blanc alone. Its name comes from "blanc fumé", the local name for Sauvignon, whose berries take on a grey bloom as they ripen. The same specification governs a separate neighbouring appellation, Pouilly-sur-Loire, reserved for whites made from Chasselas.
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