Winemaker Notes
100% Barrel fermentation (30% new oak barrels / 70% barrels aged 1 and up to 5 years). Maturing on fine lees for 12 months in barrel and 4 months in tank.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
The upper part was spared more than the lower. A glowing fresh primrose yellow. The bouquet takes some time to emerge, but the class of the vineyard was apparent. Very good density on the palate, a balanced fruit with some livelier fresh apple notes appearing at the back of the palate. Correctly nuanced and delivers a balanced finish. Drink from 2027-2032.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 -
Vinous
The 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Pucelle 1er Cru has a vivacious bouquet, well defined with touches of lemon thyme, crushed stone and a hint of dewy meadow. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. Pretty apricot-tinged citrus-driven fruit with a dash of lemongrass segues into a very harmonious and quite persistent finish. Superb.
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Decanter
This delicious wine puts the emphasis firmly on citrus and mineral on the initial attack, while the texture on the palate opens up to show concentration, breadth, and spice. The grapes come from a 1.16-hectare plot at the northern end of the vineyard that the family has owned since 1917. Portions have been replanted over time, and the oldest vines date to the ‘50s and ‘60s. The fruit is gently pressed, and the must settled overnight before fermentation in cask (25% new) with relatively few lees.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A source of some of the finest, juicy, silky and elegantly floral Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet lies just to the north of Chassagne-Montrachet, a village with which it shares two of its Grands Crus vineyards: Le Montrachet itself and Bâtard-Montrachet. Its other two, which it owns in their entirety, are Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. And still, some of the finest white Burgundy wines come from the prized Premiers Crus vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet. To name a few, Les Pucelles, Le Clavoillon, Les Perrières, Les Referts and Les Combettes, as well as the rest, lie northeast and up slope from the Grands Crus.
Farther to the southeast are village level whites and the hamlet of Blagny where Pinot Noir grows best and has achieved Premier Cru status.