PULIGNY-MONTRACHET LES CHARMES 2013

Production area

Puligny-Montrachet is a village on the Côte de Beaune, located in the area producing the finest white wines of Burgundy: the Golden Triangle, which is demarcated by the villages of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The village supposedly holds its name from the Gallo-Roman era, when the first people settled and named it Puliniacus - the marsh house. The second name "Montrachet" was attached only in the end of the 19th century, to have a link with the Grand Cru that can be produced in the village. The appellation produces almost all white wines, with 17 climats classified as Premier Cru and 5 Grands Crus.

Origins

According to Saint Jacob, in Burgundy the word “Charmes” may designate ancient communal fields that were once cultivated then allowed to go fallow, if taken in the sense of “chaume”, or stubble field. It may also refer to woods of hornbeam (“charme”) trees. The subsoil is principally composed of clay,with brown limestone soils. The climat 'Les Charmes' is exposed South-East, perfect for benefiting of a maximum amount of sunshine and ensure the best maturation of the grapes.

Varietal

100% Chardonnay

Tasting notes

COLOUR : Shiny white gold.
NOSE : Aromas of citrus enhanced by delicately toasted vanilla notes.
PALATE : Fresh and light in the mouth, with a good minerality and discreet woody notes. The finale is long and charming.

Vinification and maturing

Grapes are harvested by hand the 4th of October 2013, and carefully sorted to respect our rigorous selection process.
Once at the winery, the grapes go in a bladder press: squeezed from the inside of the press, they receive an equal amount of pressure, ensuring the best quality of juice with a minimal exposure to oxygen. The vinification and ageing take place in wooden vats and barrels with a proportion of 40% new oak that will give more structure to the wine and bring soft tannins as well as woody notes.
The wine is aged on lees for 9 months; keeping the lees and stirring them accosionnaly will developp the complexity and aromas of the wine.
The wine was fined and gently filtered before being bottled in 21th July 2014.

Food and wine pairing

This wine will be perfect paired with refined dishes such poultry in sauce, veal fried with mushrooms, foie gras, lobster, crawfish, and grilled or fried sea-fish. On the cheese-board, its natural allies are goat cheeses, Reblochon, or soft-centred cheeses like Brie de Meaux.

Serving suggestions

11 to 13°C

Ageing potential

6 to 8 years

Vintage : 2013

The Côte de Beaune experienced very difficult weather conditions in 2013: winter was particularly long and followed by a fresh and rainy spring. We all remember it for we witnessed various floods. As a consequence, the flowering was very long which lead to numerous flower abortions. Sadly, we knew from there that we would go through another small harvest… When the summer began, we starting hoping and thought we would be spared. But we had to suffer a powerful hailstorm and witness another part of the harvest vanish. That’s why we had to harvest a bit sooner this year and sort the grapes very carefully. We put the stress on having the best must quality before starting the fermentation process. We also tried to keep fast fermentations (alcoholic and malolactic) with a short maturing in barrels that we completed with a longer ageing in stainless steel tanks in order to keep the freshness of the wine and avoid any kind of aromatic deviation. Finally, we are facing a very ethereal and soft vintage, which can seem too light at first sight but which has a good complexity enhanced by delicate woody notes. This vintage will be better drunk in its youth, to enjoy all its crispiness.

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