2016 Chevalier-Montrachet, Grand Cru, Château de Puligny-Montrachet, Burgundy
About this WINE
Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet
Château de Puligny was a slumbering force until it was finally awoken by the arrival of Etienne de Montille in time to oversee the 2001 vintage. Under Etienne, yields have been drastically reduced and the wines are handled much more sympathetically in the cellar so that the quality of the fruit dominates the oak.
In 2012 Étienne and investors purchased the property and have radically reformed the estate, dropping unsuitable vineyards, converting to organic (and indeed biodynamic) farming, and further improving the winemaking.
Etienne also makes the wines at his family's domaine in Volnay, where a lighter touch is also in evidence in recent vintages. Puligny needs more Premiership performers, and Château de Puligny has already established its credentials as an elite respresentative.
Chevalier-Montrachet
Chevalier-Montrachet is one of the most renowned Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy. Located in the Côte de Beaune subregion, specifically in the villages of Puligny Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet is famous for producing exceptional white wines. The terroir is characterized by its limestone-rich soils, which contribute to the minerality and complexity of the wines. The vineyard's exposure to the sun, slope, and altitude also play crucial roles in shaping the unique characteristics of the wines.
Only white wines are produced in Chevalier-Montrachet and are exclusively made from Chardonnay grapes. The wines are known for their richness, elegance, and complexity, often displaying a combination of citrus, orchard fruit, floral, and mineral notes.
Chevalier-Montrachet wines are known for their ability to age gracefully. The best vintages can evolve and improve in the bottle for several decades, developing additional complexity and nuance over time. Production is limited, however, due to the small size of the vineyards.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
The estate has nearly a quarter of a hectare here, but suffered a 50 percent loss in 2016. Marvellously intense, this has an ethereal, cool, stone component – a classic character of this vineyard, with a lick of exotic nectarine on the finish. It was matured equally in a mixture of standard and demis, and with more and longer lees contact than usual, to feed the wine’s textural volume. It will need patience. Drink 2022-2032.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer
The Château de Puligny-Montrachet was a slumbering force until finally being awoken by the arrival of Étienne de Montille in time to oversee the 2001 vintage. Under Étienne, yields have been drastically reduced and the wines are handled much more sympathetically in the cellar so that the quality of the fruit dominates the oak. In 2012 Étienne and investors purchased the property and have radically reformed the estate, dropping unsuitable vineyards, converting to organic (and indeed biodynamic) farming, and further improving the winemaking. It was a successful vintage here in terms of quality, under the eye of cellar master Brian Sieve. He recounts how the lower slopes of Puligny-Montrachet and the Bourgogne Blanc vineyards on the plain escaped nearly all the frost, but the lower Meursault vineyards were almost entirely affected. For Château de Puligny-Montrachet, this is a good vintage – maybe lacking the flesh of a truly great year, but equally delicious in its accessibility. Not all the vineyards suffered, but there were, nevertheless, some serious reductions in certain sites.
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