Pearl Morissette, Fougue 2021

100% Chardonnay

Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada

A high density planting of Chardonnay in the Home Vineyard in the Creek Shores VQA pressed whole cluster into concrete and old foudre. It ages in those same vessels on its primary lees for 23 months. The 2021 has bright acidity and vivid fruit with a shimmering weightless quality.

Francois’ career in wine began in his early 20s when he spent a year working for Domaine Alain Gras in Saint-Romain, learning about the traditional winemaking methods of the region. Once he moved back to Quebec, he worked towards becoming a sommelier and spent the rest of the 1990s building some of the most ambitious wine lists in both Quebec and Ontario. In 2000, the call of the vines was too loud to ignore and he moved back to France to pursue winemaking full-time, working for some of the most famous producers in the Côte d’Or including Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny, Christian Gouges of Domaine Henri Gouges in Nuits-Saint-Georges and Domaine Roulot in Meursault.  After 7 years in Burgundy, he returned to Canada with an eye to make his own wine using the knowledge he gained abroad, and it wasn’t long before he found a partner (Mel Pearl, a developer in Toronto) with whom to make it all happen.

The estate now owns two vineyards: the 19th Street Vineyard in the Twenty Mile Beach VQA and the home vineyard which is next to the winery, that is part of the Creek Shore VQA: both farmed organically, though not certified. When harvesting (which is done in multiple passes by hand), Francois pays keen attention to the ripeness levels of the grapes as he views this as the key to achieving perfect balance in the finished wine. In the cellar, vinifications are done in a wide variety of different vessels ranging from cement tank, to barrique, to cement egg. Fining and filtration is frowned upon, and sulfur is only used in minuscule doses, if at all.