Tasting Notes
Vinous 91.5
Bright pale yellow. Expressive scents of yellow peach, soft citrus fruits and stone. Bright, tight and savory, showing lovely mineral energy in the middle palate. A step up in concentration, complexity and verve from the Champs-Canet, with a firm spine of acidity carrying the palate-staining finish. This should age well.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2028
Robert Parker 92-94
The 2014 Puligny Montrachet 1Er Cru les Perrières has another mineral-driven, tensile bouquet that is extremely well focused with scents of Granny Smith apples, morning dew and flint. The palate is extremely well focused with wonderful salinity. I love the energy displayed by this nascent wine and the manner in which it enlivens the senses. This has great potential once in bottle. My visit to Domaine Jean-Jacques Carillon had to be cancelled thanks to an impasse between thick fog and my flight to Burgundy (and an inconvenient taxi crash). Fortunately, Jean-Jacques was able to reschedule the following morning and with just six cuvées from his small winery in Puligny, it does not take too long for him to flit between one stainless steel vat to another. Resplendent in his trademark baseball cap, he told me that he was touched by hail in his premier crus and lost around 40% of the crop, not only from hail but also by hydric stress, especially upon steeper slopes. But he enjoyed sunny conditions and was able to start picking on September 10, some 18 days earlier than in 2013. He matures the wines in 15% new oak for the village crus, and 20% new oak for the premier crus and that spend 12 months in barrel before transferring into stainless steel, intended for bottling in March 2016. He liked the roundness and richness of the 2014s and I did too. This are brilliant expressions of the vintage: razor-sharp acidity, sublime balance, more mineral laden than a limestone quarry. Quantities are small, but if you are lucky enough to secure an allocation, then you are simply going to drink some of the finest whites of the 2014 vintage.
Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035