Puligny avoided much of the frost and flowering went well in this vineyard, so volumes are good. It’s very fine and floral, with jasmine notes on the nose. The palate has some delicate peach fruit but this is all about great intensity, finesse and elegance. A feminine wine with great ageing potential. Drink 2022-2030.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Fichet’s big step forward came in 2000 when he moved the whole operation to splendid cellars at Le Creux du Coche by the Hôpital de Meursault. Jean-Philippe is looking for purity in his wines. He deals mostly with lieux-dits in Meursault with just one Premier Cru in Puligny. Constantly experimenting and refining, his wines have real definition and individuality, with the individual terroirs clearly exposed. The wines are raised in barrel for the first year, using larger demi- muids for the lesser appellations, then assembled in tank. A maximum of 30 percent new oak is used on any cuvée. It is hard not to be infected by Jean- Philippe’s enthusiasm and positivity. Despite being 40 percent down in 2016, he remained upbeat, explaining that he sees the variability of vintages as part and parcel of a vigneron ’s lot. The losses could have been much worse, but the domaine is equipped with candles which protect against frost and they work hard in the vines to keep grass low to reduce the risk of frost damage. He declared himself happy with the quality, but feels it is a vintage which will require patience on the part of the consumer, as many of the wines will be more austere in youth than those of 2015.

Jean-Baptiste feels that the vines in this vineyard are getting into their stride now that they have passed their 35th anniversary. It is hard to disagree; the wine is floral and mineral with a laser-like focus and purity, but with the stuffing to steer clear of any feeling of meanness or austerity. An excellent, benchmark Cailleret. Drink 2023-2030.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

The Bouzereau clan is widespread in the village of Meursault, with Domaine Michel Bouzereau at the forefront. Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau, Michel’s son, is now in sole charge. He moved to a purpose-built winery in 2009 which has made the winemaking a great deal easier to manage and has enabled Jean-Baptiste to refine his style towards greater purity as well as more substance. The wines are racked after 11 months, with the better village Meursaults and all the Premiers Crus being returned to barrel for additional ageing, before bottling early the following year. Jean-Baptiste explained that frost was more of a problem in the lower-lying Grands Charrons vineyard than Tessons and the Premiers Crus which sit on the slope. Overall he is around a third down on a normal year, mainly in the lesser appellations. Harvest began on 22nd September for the whites, and took place in good conditions. He feels that 2016 is a vintage which will appeal to Burgundy lovers, and one which shows each terroir with great clarity.

Lovely bright, pale colour with a faint green inflection. Very classy on the nose, with a little oak and lemon grass, clearly lots more to be teased out. It has a beautiful balance between the fruit and the acidity. Very long and persistent. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Frédéric Barnier is pleased with the wines in his cellar despite having to cope with a very difficult year, with high disease pressure through the summer, then a cold and damp September. He began picking on 23rd September, for the whites, but felt that it was essential to wait for the reds. Even so everything was picked by 5th October. Frédéric notes that it took time for colour and tannin to emerge.

This is Jadots special patch of Chevalier and it has come out with all guns blazing in 2009. With sparkling minerality, chiselled purity, grace and length, this will develop into a truly great wine.

This is a legendary wine from the best plot in Chevalier. Theres an extraordinarily sexy nose and according to winemaker Jacques Lardire, the flavour you get when you crunch a hazelnut straight from the tree. The palate absolutely sings with a dancing minerality on the finish. A wonderful wine to be enjoyed over the next 30 years.

Only six barrels this year, not much from half a hectare. The grapes were exceptionally small as well as the loss of volume from hail. It is heady and concentrated on the nose, though it’s in the mouth that one sees the real quality, while an exceptionally fine thread of acidity carries through to the lacy finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Jacques Lardière is now in charge of a new project in Oregon, after 40 years at Louis Jadot, and Frédéric Barnier is fully installed in Beaune in his place. In principal, however, there are not expected to be any changes to the winemaking. Frédéric describes 2012 as a superb vintage for reds with very healthy grapes, despite the difficult growing season. He notes the exceptionally concentrated fruit coupled with good acidity. He just had to take care to avoid over firm tannins. The whites were more difficult but their practice of retaining a proportion of the malic acid has been useful this year. All the whites are now bottled with DIAM corks.

 

Very poised and close-knit at the beginning it opens in the glass with an explosion of flavours; white flowers, white apples and an crysteline wet stone minerality. Wow! The finish has a never-ending persistence (I stopped counting at 86 seconds). Truly impressive.

Fine and pale, with a light green tint, this has just a hint of gunflint in it and a sense of greater weight. There’s an impeccable balance between the clay and the limestone, with beautiful integration of minerals and acidity, justifying its status as a senior Premier Cru. Very fine.

The progress we noted with the 2013 vintage here has been further developed with an excellent range of 2014 wines. Extra details apparent this year are the enhanced use of lees after racking and the minimal use of sulphur without risking oxidation. The Château de Puligny rises a further few notches up the ladder. Étienne de Montille notes that, in 2014, “there was super clean fruit and we could pick at leisure”.

lively, stimulating, mineral bouquet: very stylish, with superb backbone through the middle, long and fine, accompanying a mix of different fruits, which are more white than yellow.

Jean-Baptiste liked the fruit and the flesh of his 2014s from the start, but since October he feels that the structure and sense of class have become apparent. He was happily surprised to find such regular, healthy fruit despite the hail, and, apart from the size of the crop, there was no discernible difference between the hailed vineyards and the others. Overall his crop was 40 percent below a normal year, and 10 percent below 2013, so his pricing this year is eminently fair.

The Puligny shows a touch more colour with impressive weight on the palate, yellow plum fruit abounding, with a fresher finish to maintain the balance. This will give great pleasure even in youth.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)

The 2009 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts brings together all of the elements of the house style. It shows marvelous harmony, deftly balancing the ripeness of the year with structure and persistence. Layers of radiant fruit flow through gracefully to the finish, where bright, floral notes restore elements of brightness and freshness. Yellow stone fruits, light honey and smokiness linger in the glass. I especially like the energy and polish here. This is a fabulous bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2013+.
Antonio Galloni - The Wine Advocate #196, Aug 2011

A clear, pale colour, this has the lightest of green tints. A very elegant approach, this has beguiling floral notes, pure clean fruit too and some white peach, without being overly opulent. It has a lovely texture and great persistence. The fruit keeps on coming: an exquisitely balanced 2015 Puligny. Drink 2019-2024.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

The harvest began on 28th August, with acceptable but still slightly low volumes, very similar to the immediately previous vintages. Already certified as organic, the château’s wines will also be certified (Biodivin) as biodynamic from 2017. This has become a seriously good address for white Burgundy in recent vintages. The 2015s have an excellent weight of fruit married to good acidity.

This has a fine, bright lemon-and-lime colour, with real zest to the nose. There is just a hint of gunflint, but this is exceptionally classy. The wine is serene on the palate and vivacious too; very long and taffeta-like in texture. Yes, please. Extremely long, it has a multi-layered finish. Drink 2019-2026.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

This is a vintage to buy from Domaine de Montille without hesitation, whether it be the Bourgogne Rouge, a Grand Cru or indeed anything in between, such as his marvellous Volnays and Pommards. The whites are very smart, too. In common with other vignerons, Etienne and his cellar master, Brian Sieve, have opted for a higher proportion of whole bunches this year. The grapes were picked between 1st and 5th September, with alcohol levels coming in below 13 percent.

Over the years Jean-Philippe has tamed this vigorous vineyard and the fruits of his labour are evident in the high level of quality here in 2007. A graceful, floral nose leads on to a fine, rich, fleshy palate which has a notably long aftertaste.

Olivier’s Puligny Montrachet always delivers a deeper colour than his Meursault. It shows lovely yellow fruit, on the nose, hiding behind a matchstick reduction, and generous fruit including mirabelle plums on the palate. A luscious yet impeccably balanced wine, approachable early. .
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Buying Director

You cannot escape the undoubted class of this wine. Although reserved, it displays some very intense, lively notes and exceptional length.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Buyer

There are three new cuvées from Antoine Jobard this year: a Meursault not previously bottled, a newly purchased Puligny Premier Cru, and a barrel of Meursault Perrières grown by a friend and exchanged for some Jobard Poruzots. The harvest began on 29th August with healthy grapes, very few treatments having been needed in the vines, which were picked around 12.2% with correct yields around 50 hl/ha. This is a superb address for Meursault which ages with distinction. From the steep hillside in the hamlet of Blagny. Tight, soft with discreet and infused floral notes with a finely chiselled finish.
Francis Huicq, London Shop Manager

Brilliantly rich and round, this needs a little time in the mouth for the detail to be revealed. Fresh, yet certainly ripe, with tingling minerality, it is totally balanced and has an exceptionally long finish. A young lady still, this Les Demoiselles is a great white Burgundy in the making.

Lovely pale lemon colour; a remarkably stylish nose with all the class of really top Puligny. Very linear but with lots of subtle nuances dancing around the core. Fresh acidity brings up a long finale.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

The former Domaine René Manuel has been purchased by investors, the vineyards being split between Domaine des Comtes Lafon and Domaine Roulot while Dominique Lafon himself has moved production of his own label wines to the Manuel cellars in Meursault, as well as gaining some Bourgogne Blanc vines. Though Dominique operates officially under the status of negociant, all the wines are domaine grown and bottled except the Bourgogne Blanc, which will be next year.

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret is fresh and appealing from the floral bouquet onwards. A fully ripe wine with a beautiful broad palate and plenty of flesh. Very distinguished, this is likely to be accessible early.

This comes from two parcels, one the irresistibly named Rue aux Vaches, above the village, and the other Noyers Bret, towards Chassagne. The whites are made by pressing whole bunches in a vertical press, just as in Champagne. The wine is very correct, fresh, with a little pulpy character that adds sufficient flesh. Drink 2019-2022.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Based in Premeaux, just south of Nuits-St Georges, Domaine de la Vougeraie was created in 1999 when Jean-Claude Boisset decided to group together all the vineyard holdings of the various négociant companies he had acquired over the years. Pascal Marchand was put in charge in 1999, with Bernard Zito in the vineyards, which are farmed biodynamically. Pascal produced powerful wines, fairly heavily extracted in his early vintages but clearly moving to a softer style by 2004. The wines have subsequently been made by Pierre Vincent who has maintained the more delicate approach. Top-quality vineyards continue to be added, especially Grand Cru whites in recent vintages. This is Pierre Vincent’s last vintage, as he is now installed at Domaine Leflaive. Vougeraie is very happy with this year’s result, another domaine to call the vintage “très Bourguigonne”, meaning that the precision and purity of the fruit means this is more terroir-focused than 2015’s broader and more intense style. They are also very happy with the way the frosted and non-frosted vines finally ripened homogenously, giving much of the credit to their biodynamic culture. Given the health of the berries, a lot of whole bunches were used at fermentation.