Tasted in Puligny with Alvina’s husband, Philippe Abadie, 13 October 2021.
Domaine Alvina Pernot
4d rue de Bois
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
More reports with Domaine Alvina Pernot
If you take the D974 south – I still prefer to call it the RN74! – to Puligny, you may note a newly built cuverie on the right, almost in the vines of The Château de Puligny-Montrachet. Still a ‘work in progress’ when I visited, this is the new home of Alvina and Philippe – and it’s nearly completed. Philippe explains “We started with about 6,000 bottles in 2018 but we will have about 20,000 in 2020. Of course, there were many fewer opportunities for grapes in 2021 so we will have less than half in 2021 – but in 2020 we have 14 different cuvées and the market is running well. The new cuverie is designed with just me and Alvina in mind, so we are not looking to go beyond about 30,000 bottles – and we can take our time in reaching that number.”
The wines…
Given the similarity sourcing there should be some questions asked chez Paul Pernot – how can Alvina and Philippe’s wines be so good? Or better put, so much better!? Really a great showing today – there were many wines here that would be worthy of a special search to purchase!
All the wines were bottled at the start of September:
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Blanc
Here two parcels, both in the commune of Puligny – they will be separated for 2021.
That’s a silky aromatic invitation almost a little patissière but very smooth. Big in the mouth, lots of freshness – rather demonstrative – framed with a fine grain of tannin. Slowly rolling waves of finishing flavour – excellent, just a nose away from great Bourgogne today.
2020 St.Romain
Not just one parcel – this the only wine not bought as grapes.
A nice extra freshness of aroma vs the Bourgogne. Direct, mineral with mouth-watering citrus notes – almost juicy. The flavour lasts very well here. Very lovely wine – excellent St.Romain
2020 Puligny-Montrachet Rue au Vache
Deeper, very slightly reductive – I have to say that this is very attractive. Bold, mouth-filling, structural but never hard. This is a very fine Puligny – simply excellent wine – so mouth-watering!
Here using a vertical press (instead of the more usual pneumatic press) the grapes were collected in small cases.
A more composed width of aroma – this is also very inviting. More tannic grain frames the pure and structural flavour. Properly juicy this one – the start of the last and the finish of this would be grandiose – as it is, this is still a very excellent, practically great, villages that will get better and better if you have a little patience.
Domaine, young vines.
A narrower nose but of super depth – perhaps a faint reduction adding to this depth. Exciting, mineral, so juicy – full of energy – just a hint more austere today than the Pernot version. Bravo!
That’s a great nose – certainly faintly reductive but it brings a great aromatic accent. Really juicy and mouth-watering – not the simplistic richness of ‘traditional’ Charmes – alive energetic – a great wine.
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Chalumaux
A more compact nose – there’s purity and even a faint warmth of spice. More composed yet fully mineral and mouth-watering – there’s mouth-filling volume here too – serious wine that I’d wait for but with much anticipation. Great finishing, really great finishing!
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clos de la Garenne
Extra width, a mineral width too. A very fine tannin frames the flavours. Beautifully judged acidity here – like we haven’t had for a while in the Côte d’Or – always bringing the mouth-watering ‘lust’ for replenishing the glass. Also to wait a while for, also excellent!
A little extra aromatic punch yet the top notes are attractive airy. Mouth-filling but so incisive. Growing in flavour authority and concentration but never to the detriment of the balance of this wine. That’s great and will keep as long as you like / the cork allows – but that’s a great wine.
From the Pernot family’s ‘Clos.’
Here the nose is a little less expansive though the width is still good – and of course classy. So fresh, so intense – like the nose growing in width. An inner, almost stony density to this wine. Super-impressive but it will need time to fully unfurl. Bravo!
This nose is a little narrower at the top but widens and widens as you approach the base – here with a hint of reductive energy. Powerful but never heavy, concentrated but never ‘dense’ here is such a bubblingly delicious weight of flavour. Perhaps showing a little more than the other wines. Wide and minerally mouth-watering in the finish. Bravo!
Opposite Restaurant Le Charlemagne.
That’s a super nose – lots of energy and a faint reduction again – very attractive I must say. Extra mouth-filling volume – really some concentration here – but such energy too. Great wine here again!
2020 Chevalier-Montrachet
A more top-end loaded nose – but fine purity. A little reduction again but so well done. Ultra mineral but never with too much rigour, slowly mouthwatering, very faintly tannic – excellent Chevalier, grand white burgundy.
Lots of aromatic freshness here – rather more guarded below. Really concentrated but also really with energy and super-fine acidity – more like a Chevalier in the last vintages – that’s so well done. Another really top wine – 2020 is really delivering here.