From two plots in Noyers Brets and Rue aux Vaches, this is pale lemon-and-lime in colour with a fresh, floral nose. Middleweight, balanced, the wine is very even across the palate, with good weight at the back and some lime notes. Persistent, it retains its freshness. Drink 2018-2022.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

This year Pierre Vincent has been able to achieve his aim of an ideal barrel rotation. Each of these wines has been matured in one-third new wood, one-third one-year-old and one-third two-year-old. Because of the exceptional health of the grapes in 2015, he has also been able to vinify all the wines without de-stemming. His 2015 reds are wines of grace and elegance, while the white wines (picked from 28th August) have an impressive tension alongside a concentration of fruit.

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.

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 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 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

Another lively primrose colour with faint green tints, the nose is very expressive, with flowers, verbena and a sense of concentration. This is very high class with several waves of flavour on the palate: lemon notes, white fruit and just a little flesh behind. Long and lovely. Drink 2021-2028.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Picking began on 28th August and the whites were brought in across just three days. “It was such a beautiful quality of fruit,” says Jean-Baptiste, “that I couldn't stop eating the grapes.” Good sugar levels have brought alcohols ranging from 12.6 to 13.2 percent and the wines have been elegant right from the start.

A Burgundy wine that does not hide its premier cru class: Acacia blossom and wet stone aromas that complement the round citrus flavours on the palate, underpinned by a lightly smoky and toasty finish. A solid, sensational effort.

The Château de Puligny team have made an intense, tightly wound Premier Cru from La Garenne, an upper hillside vineyard which always maintains its minerality. This wine has a beautifully fine persistent finish.

There is a fine density of flavour in the complex nose, with a little toast and bacon fat. There are lifted, almost ethereal notes to the fruit, with fresh and pure apple-like acidity. Long and distinguished with dancing fruit, very fineboned yet with a layer of velvet.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

This micro-domaine continues to make some of the most sublime white wines in all of Burgundy but there is so little made that Arnaud and Marie-Odile are somewhat under the radar. Their meticulous work in the vineyards mean that yields are always low, though they hope to do better than their 19 hl/ha in 2012 and 26 hl/ha in 2013. The 2012s enjoyed long slow fermentations, so the wines were quite backward when tasted in November. The reds are also very fine this year.

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

Glowing a beautiful and pristine primrose colour this has a slightly more opulent nose than the Meursaults, with blossom notes and a summer meadow feeling. It offers a wondrous multi-dimensional mouthful too with a brilliant fleshy finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Arnaud Ente is always one of the first to pick. His meticulous vineyard work and low yields encourage early ripeness, so in 2010 he could start on 15th September. The yield is much the same as 2008 and Arnaud notes similar acidity readings, but with much more flesh on the palate and finer aromatics. The label has also been fine-tuned this year and is now exceptionally handsome. Overall, these are breath-taking wines.

A really intense nose of yellow fruit and spring flowers makes this wine immediately appealing. Quite full on the palate, it has lovely elegance and several layers of fruit which fill the mouth, before a long and fine finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director During the last year, Etienne de Montille, who has run Château de Puligny-Montrachet for the last decade, bought out the previous owners. 2012 will therefore be the first vintage of the new regime and also the first which will be fully certified organic after completion of the necessary three years. In 2011 the Château has produced a good crop of white wines, with old-fashioned low alcohol levels in both the reds and whites: wines originally found to be around 12% abv have been adjusted to 12.5% abv, anything above that was untouched.

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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.

Pure, clean and fine with a lovely, dancing and floral Puligny-Montrachet note, this is great value for Caillerets. It displays a really fine bouquet and is really lovely, with plenty of density behind, but nothing heavy. You will really enjoy the fabulous finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau harvested from 27th August to 4th September in 2011, bringing in an increased crop in the region of 10% compared to 2010, and still well inside the permitted yields. Vinification was without problem and the wines are deserving of a relatively long maturation in barrel. This year sees the return of this domaines excellent Bourgogne Blanc to our list, as Jean-Baptiste he has sold his Aligoté vineyard and purchased another 1.22ha of well-placed Bourgogne Blanc vines instead. The quality here has leapt ahead since the move to new cellars in 2009 and pricing remains very reasonable.

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