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Château de Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru “En Remilly”

Burgundy, France 2016 (750mL)
$59.00
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Château de Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru “En Remilly”

In the hands of ascending star Étienne de Montille, Château de Puligny-Montrachet hasn’t just seen a resurgence, it’s witnessing its strongest period of prosperity and acclaim. The brilliance in these wines have hypnotized white Burgundy lovers to the point where the name on the label triggers an automatic purchase, a response that only the most consistent, globally praised producers can evoke. Today’s exceptional bottling from the small-production 2016 vintage hails from one of the best “insider” Burgundy vineyards of them all: “En Remilly.”
Located above Saint-Aubin, this cooler, hillside Premier Cru essentially blends into the royal cluster of “Montrachet” Grand Crus just over the hill—seriously, it’s a 9-iron shot from Chevalier-Montrachet. There’s a reason many consider the elite vines of Saint-Aubin to be the greatest Burgundy values out there, especially when crafted by the de Montille family. Today’s wine guarantees that to (1) over-deliver and (2) trounce a number of its exorbitantly priced luxury neighbors. Crystalline, opulent, and balanced, this ‘16 vividly illustrates why “En Remilly” is so cherished among the wine cognoscenti. We were able to steal away with what little their importer had remaining!
Winemaker Étienne de Montille of Château de Puligny-Montrachet is Burgundy royalty—his family roots include 17th-century Volnay lords. Étienne’s father Hubert earned a name for his family domaine by crafting whites happy to sit almost as long in the cellar as the reds. Then it was Étienne’s turn. After stints in law and a brief year bartending at Chez Panisse in California, Étienne realized where his heart lay. He returned home and apprenticed under his exacting father. In addition to overseeing operations at the family domaine, which he took over in 1990, he and his sister, Alix, created a well-known négociant business and, in 2012, they purchased the historic Château de Puligny-Montrachet—which Étienne had run since 2001. He has revived the Château’s fortunes largely by focusing on the health and sustainability of its vineyards—not only converting them to organic/biodynamic farming but reducing overall wine production by 20 percent to focus on a smaller number of bottlings.

As you’ve heard here and elsewhere, 2016 was another hail-shortened vintage—meaning that storms in the spring stripped fledgling grape bunches off the vines and thus reduced the size of the eventual crop—but the fruit that did make it to harvest was of superb quality. As in past vintages, Étienne coaxed brilliance from the Château’s 1.7 hectares in En Remilly, a feat no doubt aided by the average age (70 years) of his old vines. The 2016 version of this wine is both opulent and lively, showing excellent integration and lots of layered, tension-filled Chardonnay fruit. This is largely thanks to de Montille’s reductive style of winemaking (e.g. Roulot): After 12 months of aging in French barrels (15% new), the wine is then transferred into stainless steel tanks for six additional months. 

In the glass, it displays a deep yellow-gold core moving to straw and silver at the rim, with an explosive nose of yellow apple, citrus, a hint of nectarine, salted lemon, honeysuckle, and wet stones. Medium- to medium-plus in body, with electrifying freshness to balance its ample extract, this is typical of a lot of ’16s in that it is very pleasurable now but also poised to lay down for another 5-7 years. I’d say do both: Open a bottle now and decant it for at least two hours before serving in all-purpose white stems (or larger red Burgundy bowls) at cellar temperature (50-55F). Its plush mid-palate followed by a tense, mouthwatering finish will have you craving a beautiful piece of white-fleshed fish, sautéed and drizzled with lemon. I feel like I could eat (and drink) that every night, but the attached recipe would be an especially good version. Enjoy!

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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceSaint-Aubin
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Organic & Biodynamic
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
20% New French
TEMP.
45-55
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
60 Minutes
Pairing
Halibut 'In Cartoccio'

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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