2019 Puligny-Montrachet Village

Carillon was not sporting his trademark red jacket when I visited his bijou winery in the heart of Puligny; a late spot of autumn sun meant that it was not necessary. As usual, Carillon showed me through his latest bottled vintage: 2019 plus the 2020s from vat from his 5.25 hectares of vineyard. “The 2020s have less concentration and richness than 2019. It is a more Burgundy style of wine,” he explained. “I started picking on August 23, compared to September 10 in 2019, with the alcohol around 13°. The wines are all raised in around 20% new oak. I believe they should age well.” This was an excellent small set of wines. Among the 2019s, I thought the Puligny Les Perrières really stood out, whereas the Les Referts just has the edge.

Monsieur Carillon cut a striking figure attired in his regulation facemask and thick rounded glasses. This is always a short tasting, as Carillon only produces half-a-dozen cuvées, which afforded me time to taste his bottled 2018s after the 2019s. “There was a little frost in Puligny,” he rued. “We found that the grapes were very small. We were predicting a harvest on 20 September, but as sugar levels increased that date was brought forward to 15 and finally 10 September. Yields were low due to a combination of frost, the poor flowering, plus the dryness. The 2019s are matured in 15% new oak for Village Crus and 20% for the Premier Crus, alcohol levels are around 14° and 14.5° respectively. The dryness concentrated both the sugar and acidity. The 2018s, which were bottled in March 2020, are more massive and contain less alcohol than the 2019s.” Carillon’s wines are your quintessential nervy, steely Pulignys. Choosing between the two most recent vintages was difficult but at this address I might err slightly towards 2018 over 2019 by a small and mutable margin.