Few people know that Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur, the incontrovertible master of Meursault and Volnay, also discreetly bottle a single wine from Puligny-Montrachet. We typically tell those inquiring minds “tough luck,” but today, in what I imagine will be a very short-lived offer, we can offer up to six of these staggering rarities.
Suffice it to say that in renowned Puligny, there aren’t many “secret” wines or new discoveries left to uncover. Names like Carillon, Leflaive, and Boillot have dominated the conversation for decades and their legendary reputations (and price tags) swell with each new vintage. So, in my ongoing search for rare, high-quality, but still fairly priced Puligny, I often look for cuvées from vineyards that seem out of place within the context of an elite property’s benchmark holdings: Imagine discovering that legend Jean-Louis Chave quietly bottles a Côte-Rôtie or that Lafite-Rothschild slips a small-batch Margaux into the rotation. Such is the case with Meursault maestro Bitouzet-Prieur’s “Levrons,” a profound, irresistibly delicious white Burgundy that tastes as if they’ve dominated Puligny-Montrachet for centuries. Coming from the gorgeous 2017 vintage, this is an exceptionally fine wine whose extreme scarcity (~300 cases annually) and superb location (below 1ers “Perrieres” and “Referts”) guarantee that it will elude all but the most determined and studied collector!
The venerable Bitouzet-Prieur has been producing gorgeous white Burgundy for centuries, almost exclusively in Meursault. During this time, that family’s Premier Cru bottlings in this village have earned endless flattery from the global wine press and a sommelier following that is as devoted as it is passionate. Today’s wine hails from a gorgeous, backyard-sized parcel that is the one and only white wine vineyard the family farms outside of Meursault. While everyone else is competing for the Bitouzet family’s Meursault releases each spring, this is the wine I always grab first—and today’s 2017 is virtually leaping out of the bottle. I can’t wait for you to drink it!
François and Vincent Bitouzet farm all their parcels organically, relying on zero shortcuts with chemicals or systemic treatments, and all of the fruit is harvested by hand. Their 0.6 hectares in “Les Levrons,” were planted half in 1955, half in 2000. Its east-facing, clay- and limestone-rich soils are a superlative location for growing Chardonnay, producing rich and deeply textured whites in hot years. Even better, in superb Chardonnay vintages like 2017, “Les Levrons” delivers impressive opulence and muscle, as well as deep minerality, acid-driven focus, and a cornucopia of classic Puligny aromas. This is a special wine that could only originate from a great vintage and classic Puligny-Montrachet real estate. It ferments spontaneously in French barrels, 25% new, and matures in these same barrels for 16 months.
In a region with some estates bottling overripe, young-drinking, “modern” whites, the Bitouzet family are arch traditionalists. This is great news for all of us who love real, built-for-the-cellar, antique-styled white Burgundy. Bitouzet bottles gorgeous, extraordinarily long-lived white Burgundy, and I fully expect this ’17 to grow more expressive and savory until it peaks in the late 2020s. Still, it is far from a crime to enjoy this exceptional vintage right now. Given time to breathe, you can expect it to reflect back brilliant silver-yellow tones and tense yet lifted aromatics of yellow apple, salt-preserved lemon, crisp white pear, lees, honeysuckle, Kaffir lime, struck match, powdery white stone, toasted almond, and baking spice. The palate is energetic and expansive, filling the mouth with taut layers of yellow fruit and oak spice that complements the ever-present crushed minerals. As with all top-level Puligny, the finish lingers for 30+ seconds, promising that this will be a superstar for many years to come.
Please take care to decant Bitouzet-Prieur’s 2017 Puligny-Montrachet “Les Levrons” for at least 60 minutes before serving at 50-55 degrees in large Burgundy stems. Conversely, you can also pull the cork several hours prior to service to allow a slower, more gentle integration of oxygen.
