2007 Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres

Scents of peach, honeysuckle, and orange zest on the nose of Coche-Dury’s 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignieres lead to a palate whose subtly oily as well as creamy texture fits its dominant citrus oil and nut paste flavors. There is an invigorating and refreshing sense of energy and fresh citric brightness in the finish here to compliment the wine’s inherent richness, as well as a lovely sense of lingering, liquid floral perfume, and a stony undertone. This has the richness you expect of wines from neighboring Batard-Montrachet, but a great many of those lack this degree of elegance or animation. I would count on it to justify 6-8 years of attention. Jean-Francois Coche finished his 2007 Chardonnay harvest by mid-September, and of his whites were bottled in April. He characterizes the fruit as having been healthy, relatively high in malic acid, and easy to vinify, with alcohol levels (after very light but at this address routine chaptalization) between 12.5% and 13%. Coche is among many growers to not only draw the comparison with 2004, but to claim that this represents the only possible point of reference that even occurs to him. That said, he considers the 2007s slightly fruitier and more forward. Importers: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Sexy aromas of peach and grilled nuts, plus the sulfidey complexity shown by so many of Coche's wines. Then ripe, supple and dry, with lovely lift and clarity to the mineral and floral flavors. Wonderfully juicy, pure wine with a very long, vibrant back end.

Quite fine and more evolved than the Meursaults. Bit lower acid. Minerally/chalky. Still quite chewy. (JR)