Seemingly wishing to push the envelope, the Valettes aged their 1999 Pouilly-Fuisse Clos de Monsieur Noly Reserve Vieilles Vignes for 5 years (60 months!) in barrel before bottling it. Boasting a nose reminiscent of a complex Vin Jaune or Chateau Chalon from the Jura, yet without those wines’ distinctive oxidized traits, it reveals aromas of roasted almonds, lemongrass liqueur, a myriad of exotic spices, and hints of red berries. Immensely rich, full-bodied, broad-shouldered, and expansive, this stunning effort bursts forth with fresh flavors of honeyed lemongrass broth, creamed anise, syrupy minerals, and candied cashews. Those who buy this wine expecting something resembling other Pouilly-Fuisses they may have tried will be shocked to find something wholly different. It must be tasted to be believed and is in a class all its own, comparable to nothing I’ve encountered. Though nobody has any experience on the ageworthiness of this wine, I suggest drinking it over the next decade. Visiting the Valette family, whose home/estate is perched on Chaintre’s hillside affording views of the Saone valley (all the way to the Alps), is always a fascinating adventure. Ever since the family patriarch, Gerard Valette, left the local coop, he and his family have been fiercely independent, bucking both viticultural and winemaking traditions. For example, when all their neighbors had finished harvesting the 2003s, the Valettes were waiting for the fruit to be ripe, and when all their neighbors had bottled and shipped their 2004s, the Valettes’ were still undergoing elevage. Sadly, this outstanding, iconoclastic estate, whose offerings grace the finest restaurant wine lists in France, is no longer imported into the United States. No American importer.