Tasted in Puligny-Montrachet with Jacques Carillon, 11 October 2019 – Jacques took off his favourite red jacket so that each years’ pictures wouldn’t look the same!
Domaine Jacques Carillon
1 Impasse Drouhin
21190, Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 01 30
www.jacques-carillon.com
Jacques on 2019:
“I had some frost, but not in 1er crus. Heat too, but all had poor flowering so the end result is about minus 30-35% in volume – but I like the quality a lot.”
Jacques on 2018:
We saw 350mm here in Puligny up to April, but also more than 30°C at the end of April – but then almost frost during the first week of May, followed by days of consecutive storms followed by more nicely spaced, regular, rain. It turned out that we were lucky to have this water in the winter. Despite no frost the climate still wasn’t easy – in mid-April we were 3 weeks behind 2017 but then the warmth came. It was a great flowering, followed by constant storms for a week – but no hail! Clearly it’s a nice volume harvest. The last similar volume here was 2009 – every other year there was something we could blame from the weather! I started harvesting the 28 August versus the 1st September in 2017.
The wines…
Bottling after 18 months normally, though the 18s may be a little earlier. Jacques is currently testing DIAM in his villages cuvées.
At this stage in their elevage we have wines of super balance and good clarity – a fine set of wines, and, as usual, the Bienvenues has some greatness attached…
Normally, three discreet Pulignys wait in tank – to be blended into a single cuvée, the result of 7 lieu dits, the vines more on the Meursault side of Puligny. This year just the actual wine is waiting to taste from tank:
2018 Puligny-Montrachet
Wide, fresh, just a little diffuse but attractive all the same. Supple, there’s weight here, depth of flavour too. Ooh, that’s a concentrated and intense finish. Lots of material here. Excellent Puligny!
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet
A single plot planted in 2013 – in 2016 there was none due to frost – before this parcels was planted to red. Vines on the plain below the Château de Chassagne-Montrachet.
A similar diffuse impression but with more aromatic volume. I like the way that this winds around the palate and there’s an attractive padding to this flavour, delicious wine that is more comely than the Puligny today – lovely!
2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champs Canet
A more vertical nose emphasising the high and low tones, a little less width than the villages Puligny – all yellow fruited so far. Sweetness to this yellow citrus. Ooh, that’s a fine wine! Plenty of mouth-filling, energetic, saline-tinged flavour that is mobile and delicious – excellent 1er cru – still a touch of oak right now but it will be gone by the time you have this in your hands.
2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Perrières
The most ‘together’ nose – a fine clarity of fresh lemon notes – higher toned. A little fuller, certainly more mineral, less overt oak on this one – slowly growing in the middle – faster growth in the finish – more of a slow grower this wine – but it blooms beautifully – excellent!
2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Referts
Nicely fresh and floral – ‘less large but longer’ – perhaps stone in the middle – peach stone. Ooh – here is the mineral tension of Puligny, quite wide and retaining that shape into a long finish. Beautifully, persistently, mouth-watering in the finish – no fireworks no little explosions – Mr Consistent – super wine.
Less volume of aroma but a little more focus and complexity – very faintly citrus accented – almost to lime. Ooh – yes! Bright, intense – beautifully fresh and frank, mobile over the palate – driving, pushing – delivering. Bravo! Such a great finish too!
As we are here, why not take a look at some 2017s?
7 lieu-dits, 9 parcels, 2.7 ha. Less sunny than in 2018 – less heat from the sun – August was a little cooler, ‘wines that straddle 15 and 16 in terms of richness and minerality.’
A fresh nose, more floral more lemon. Lovely, mineral, fresh, wide, fine energy – already highly drinkable. Hmm, lovely finishing – long – beautiful villages – Bravo!
2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champs Canet
Less volume but more depth of fine aroma here. Ooh – depth, a weight but open and fresh, like the 18 there’s still a little oak showing here – but wide, nicely textured, delicious wine with a fine burst of finishing flavour.
2016 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Perrières
A broader freshness of aroma. Fuller in the mouth, a core of concentration that is reluctant to melt over the palate, but finely mineral, and with a beautiful, involving, mouth-watering finish – ooh that’s good! Excellent wine!
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