2023 Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles

Outstanding - Elegant and appealingly layered aromas of honeysuckle, citrus confit, crushed fennel and exotic tea are trimmed in all but invisible wood. Like the Chalumeaux, the medium weight flavors possess a genuinely gorgeous mouthfeel before culminating in a wonderfully long, balanced and moderately dry finale. The only thing this doesn't have, at least not yet, is superior depth so plan on at least some patience. Drink 2030+

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru has a clean, precise bouquet with freshly sliced pear and Granny Smiths, showing fine delineation and focus. That said, amongst the Puligny Premier Crus, this will need time. The palate is very well balanced with a tensile entry, quite steely and focused, with hints of yellow fruit betraying that summer's warmth toward the poised finish. Very fine. 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.

Mid lemon and lime. Quite strict, quite electric, even though the family origin (one of two provenances picked on different dates) is picked quite late, as shows in the extra volume on the palate. Nevertheless, the 2023 Pucelles has retained acidity and the generosity is appealing.