Puligny and Chassagne: The Two Montrachets

Birthday wine, Montrachet — (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

You can barely move for winemakers in the Burgundy villages of Puligny and Chassagne, says Stephen Brook. And no wonder. The area is home to the best white wine slopes in the region.

The two adjacent villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet share some of Burgundy’s best white wine slopes. Both lie along the Côte de Beaune, and Chassagne is the more southerly of the two. Chassagne is also a bit larger, but about one third of its vineyards are planted with Pinot Noir. Indeed, Chassagne used to be better known for its red than for its white wines, but the quality of the latter has persuaded many growers to replant red vines with Chardonnay. Nonetheless, 40% of Chassagne’s production is still of red wine of an earthy character. There are more than 20 premiers crus in Chassagne, some of them very small. Puligny has 17.

Since all of Puligny’s vineyards are devoted to white grapes, there is not much difference between Puligny and Chassagne in terms of production. Although the wines from each village can have distinct characteristics, it is far from easy to distinguish, in a blind tasting, between their wines. Chassagne tends to be weightier, perhaps more rounded, and stronger in overt fruit characteristics; Puligny is more tight and floral, with a pronounced acidity and minerality. Such generalisations are dangerous, however, since so many other factors come into play. There are, in both villages, very distinctive microclimates derived from altitude, exposition and soil type, that will influence the aroma, flavour and structure of a wine. And inevitably there is the human influence: the specific choices, in vineyard and winery, made by each producer.

Le Montrachet (8ha) and Bâtard-Montrachet (12ha) are shared, more or less equally, by both villages. Generalisations about these superb vineyards need to be sketchy, but it’s not too far wide of the mark to say that Chevalier is esteemed for its finesse, while Bâtard tends to show the greatest power and richness. Le Montrachet’s supremacy derives from the fact that it manages to blend the elegance of Chevalier with the body of Bâtard. Both Criots and Bienvenues have their detractors, and it does seem, when one stands in the vineyards, that their exposition is less favourable.

As is usual in Burgundy, the premiers crus are often located mid-slope: not too high, where the microclimate is colder and windier, and not too low, where the soil may be too rich. Nonetheless, elevation varies considerably among the premiers crus in Puligny and Chassagne. In Puligny, La Garenne, Hameau de Blagny and Sous le Puits are all quite high on the slope, so in less ripe years they can yield rather lean, austere wines. Nonetheless, most tasters would rate La Garenne very highly. In Chassagne, there are fewer high sites, though La Grande Montagne and Les Chaumées are well up the slope.

It is not easy to pronounce on which are the ‘best’ premiers crus available. First of all, it depends on the style of wine you enjoy. If you tend to favour richness of fruit over elegance, then in Chassagne you are much more likely to enjoy Morgeots or Champs Gain over Vergers or Caillerets. And in Puligny, Les Referts or Les Combettes will appeal to you more than Folatières or Cailleret. Then, too, the style of the winemaker will play its part.

The terroirs of both Puligny and Chassagne are sufficiently strong that the use of new wood is usually perceived as a way to enhance a wine’s complexity rather than as a mere flavour component. These are all subtle wines. Rather than trumpeting their fruit profile, they offer instead a discreet blend of fruit, minerality, acidity and oak. The best of them age beautifully, replacing primary aromas with more complex notes of nuts and stone and toast.

Blain-Gagnard: Almost half of Jean-Marc Blain’s 7.5ha of vineyards are planted with red vines, but his white holdings include parcels in three grands crus: Criots, Bâtard, and Montrachet. Blain likes to blend wines from young and old parcels: the former for their fruit and vigour, the latter for their richness and concentration. The wines are aged in 30% new oak, though up to 50% for the grands crus. Boudriotte and Caillerets are probably his best premiers crus. The wines are elegant with an underlying acidity.

Chateau de la Maltroye Jean-Pierre Cornut has run this family estate since 1992 with energy and enthusiasm. He is fortunate to have a fine array of crus, including the 2.8ha site of Clos du Château. Cold cellars allow him to prolong the malolactic fermentation and lees-stirring, giving his wines freshness and richness. The proportion of new oak varies according to the cru and vintage. These are among the most powerful and sumptuous of Chassagnes.

Michel Niellon: Niellon only farms 4.5ha of white Chassagne, so his wines are scarce. But they’re worth seeking out. He goes his own way, ageing in tanks as well as barrels to maintain freshness: the proportion of new oak rarely exceeds 20%. Apart from his grands crus (Bâtard and Chevalier), his top wine is Chaumées Clos de la Truffière, made from 75-year-old vines. Niellon’s wines are best enjoyed young.

Ramonet: Pierre Ramonet, who died in 1994 aged 88, secured the reputation of Chassagne’s most revered estate. Today the 17ha property is run by his grandsons, Noël and Jean-Claude. I have never had a disappointing bottle from here. The wines are classic Chassagne: spicy, mineral, creamy and elegant. They are also among the most long-lived of white Burgundies. A 1979 Montrachet was still impeccable and satisfying more than 20 years later.

Louis Carillon: This 12ha family domaine is now looked after by Louis’s sons, Jacques and François. They farm more than 2ha of premiers crus and a parcel in grand cru Bienvenues. The Carillons avoid herbicides and chemicals, and the soil is ploughed. The white wines are aged for 12 months in 20% new oak. Perrières is often their best cru, though Referts and Combettes are good too. The wines have vigour, charm and abundant fruit, but can lack complexity.

Domaine Leflaive: Always the leading property in Puligny, the domaine was reinvigorated when Anne-Claude Leflaive converted the vineyards to biodynamism in 1997. The wines were very good before, but they have gained in brilliance, vigour and intensity. She aims for and achieves a crystalline quality. She is lucky to work with 3ha in premier cru Pucelles and more than five in premier cru Clavoillon, and owns a total of 5ha of grands crus: Chevalier, Bâtard, Bienvenues and Montrachet.

Olivier Leflaive: Anne-Claude’s cousin Olivier runs a small négociant house in Puligny, and since 1989 has had the same talented winemaker, Franck Grux, at his side. Although Leflaive buys in fruit, the crus tend to come from the same growers each year, with the Leflaives determining the crucial picking dates. The wines are full bodied and supple, with an enlivening acidity. Chassagne Garenne and Folatières, and Chassagne Vergers are among his best premiers crus, and the Bâtard is glorious.

Etienne Sauzet: Sauzet’s son-in-law Gérard Boudot has been running this 10ha property since 1974. He also buys in from 5ha of grapes in Puligny to compensate for the loss of vineyards after a family feud in 1990. Since the mid-1990s the wines have been splendid: spicy, powerful, mineral and complex, with considerable variations, as there should be, between the various premiers crus. Combettes is often the best of them, but it can be rivalled by the brilliantly concentrated and mineral Perrières.

The château isn’t much to look at, and the 20ha (hectare) property is owned by a bank, but it’s enjoying a new lease of life under Etienne de Montille, who was appointed manager in 2001. By 2003 he had converted half the domaine to biodynamism, the rest to organic. He also moved the barrels to the damp château cellars from the air-conditioned chais, which, he believes, dried out the wines. He also reduced the proportion of new oak to 25%. The results are a triumph: dense, lush, mineral Folatières and tight, elegant grand cru Chevalier.

When Gérard Chavy retired in 1998, his sons took over, but after four years as partners they split the land between them. Alain Chavy has almost 7ha to work with, with parcels in the premiers crus, Clavoillon, Pucelles and Folatières. The wines are aged in oak barrels, with a slender amount of new oak. The 2003 is plump and should be drunk soon, but the 2004, with its citric edge, shows great promise.

Born in 1968, Ente worked the small 3ha family domaine in conjunction with an aunt, before the crop was sold to Louis Latour. From 1999 Ente went solo, controlling every detail of the farming and winemaking. The viticulture isn’t strictly organic but it is close, and Ente is strict with his yields. His first vintages were rich and opulent, thanks to energetic batonnage, but from 2002 he was pursuing a more refined style. The Village wine is very good, thanks to very old vines, while both premiers crus – Champs Gain and Folatières – combine a lush and harmonious texture with both minerality and length. An estate to watch.

Over the past decade Jean-Noël Gagnard has been gradually handing control of this superb domaine to his daughter Caroline Lestimé. They have parcels of old vines in Bâtard and in premier cru Caillerets, and a fine range of other premiers crus. These are rich wines, sometimes a touch too broad, but the Caillerets and Bâtard can have tremendous bite and piquancy. In good vintages such as 2000 and 2002, Chassagne doesn’t get much better than this.

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Stephen Brook has been a contributing editor to Decanter since 1996 and has won a clutch of awards for his writing on wine. The author of more than 30 books, his works include Complete Bordeaux, now the definitive study of the region and in its third edition, and The Wines of California, which won three awards. His most recently published book is The Wines of Austria. Brook also fully revised the last two editions of Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion, and he writes for magazines in many countries.

Puligny and Chassagne: The Two Montrachets

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