2023 Saint-Aubin Blanc Combes

A touch of matchstick character is present on the white-fleshed fruit, lemon-lime and pretty floral nuances. There is better volume to the delicious and lightly stony middle weight flavors that display a light minerality on the refreshing and balanced finale. This too would benefit from developing more depth so again, a few years of keeping should prove to be beneficial. Drink 2027+

Located on the Gamay side of the appellation (village, not variety), the 2023 Saint- Aubin Les Combes 1er Cru has a very pleasant, finely delineated bouquet: hints of yellow plum and grapefruit, a touch of cold steel. The palate is well balanced with a touch of wild peach on the entry. Slivers of freshly sliced pear and lemon peel develop toward the finish, with just a prickle of spice on the aftertaste. Delicious. It was an unseasonably warmer late October morning when I made my solitary Saturday visit to Puligny-Montrachet to Philippe Abadie, husband of Alvina Pernot. This is a rare instance of a smooth transition between generations as piece by piece, Alvina taking over the vineyards that belonged to her father, Domaine Paul Pernot. Abadie told me that Pernot is in his mid-60s, too young to retire completely, and so will keep some of the holdings, like Philippe Colin in Chassagne. But vintage by vintage, there will be an expansion of Alvina's portfolio concurrent with some cuvées borne from exchanges in must being phased out, hence small differences between the wines in this report and those of 2022. "There were a few episodes of rain at good moments," Abadie tells me. "The season was generally quite easy. Flowering was OK. It was the inverse of 2024 - very hot in the summer. We began picking on August 26 to maintain acidity. It takes us only three or four days to pick and we only did that in the mornings. We used a vertical press for our own parcels [Paul Pernot uses a horizontal press). It was a little complicated in the cellar as the malolactic sometimes started before the alcoholic fermentation and that can risk some volatile acidity. We don't add SO2 until after the malo. The wines are well balanced because of the good volumes. The whites were bottled just before harvest and there are no reds this year [there was just a solitary Santenay in '22]." Alvina Pernot is going from strength to strength with a strong portfolio built around seven Puligny Premier Crus. These are precise and characterful, each respectful to their terroir. The apex is their brilliant Bätard-Montrachet that eclipses even their Chevalier-Montrachet, with an enthralling Corton-Charlemagne hot on its heels. But there is plenty to savor at all price points and I would refer readers to the pair of excellent Bourgogne Côte d'Or Blancs in this respect.

From an exchange, which may not continue as Alvina and Philippe want to concentrate more on their own vines. Mid lemon in colour, with a fairly classical St-Aubin mineral energy plus the flesh from this lower lying plot as well. Some fresh lime fruit runs through the middle, and with good length.