Puligny Montrachet

A village in the Côte de Beaune between Chassagne and Meursault producing very fine white wine and small amounts of less interesting red. Within the Puligny commune are two Grand Cru vineyards in their entirety, Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, and two which are shared with neighbouring Chassagne: Le Montrachet itself and Bâtard-Montrachet. In addition there are a number of excellent Premier Cru vineyards that are also capable of making some of Burgundy's finest white wines - at the same elevation as Bâtard-Montrachet lie Les Pucelles and Les Combettes, which is adjacent to Meursault-Perrières. A little higher up the slope, at the same elevation as Le Montrachet, lie Les Demoiselles, Le Cailleret, Les Folatières (including Clos de la Garenne), and Champ Canet. Part of Les Demoiselles is classified as Grand Cru Chevalier-Montrachet but a very small slice remains as premier cru, being regarded, along with Le Cailleret, as the finest Puligny Premier Cru vineyard. Further up the slope, where the terrain becomes stonier are Le Champ Gain, La Truffière, Chalumeaux, and the vineyards attached to the hamlet of blagny, which are designated as Puligny-Montrachet premier cru for white wines, and Blagny premier cru for reds. A characteristic of the Puligny-Montrachet commune is the high water table, this means there are few individual village vineyards worthy of note, the best village wines will usually be a result of a blend. This also means that the cellars are rarely that deep. The wines of Puligny have a very distinctive style, very fine, taut and typically mineral, much less fat and rich than a Meursault and more elegance than a Chassagne. The top Puligny Domaines are Sauzet, Leflaive and Carillon.