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Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Le Cailleret”

Burgundy, France 2015 (750mL)
$99.00
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Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Le Cailleret”

The Burgundy collectors among you are likely chomping at the bit—as I was—to see the 2015 edition of Domaine de la Pousse d’Or’s Premier Cru “Le Cailleret” arrive on our shores. Given everything we know about this ultra-generous vintage and this exceptional vineyard (much more on that below), I was ecstatic to acquire a good-sized parcel of this wine to share with our top customers. And while I was expecting a more juicy, softly contoured evocation of this perfectly situated gem of a vineyard in 2015, my experience with the wine was an eerily exact repeat of my experience with the ’14. So much so, in fact, that what I wrote back when we offered the 2014 can be repeated verbatim now:
When I tasted this wine right after it was opened—fully aware of its pedigree and vintage—I found it rather tight. If it weren’t this producer and this vineyard, which I adore each year, maybe I would have passed it over. Instead I left the wine out for a while and re-visited it periodically. It improved. Then, I re-corked the bottle, put it in the fridge, and forgot about it until the next afternoon, when…boom! It had blossomed completely, delivering a near-perfect white Burgundy expression…It is a case study in white wine structure, and is built for long-term aging. If you’re drinking it now, you’ll want to coax it awake like a surly teenager (pull the cork 2-3 hours before), but my preference would be to lose it for a while in your cellar.
Take a look at a map of Puligny-Montrachet, and you’ll see just how exquisitely the “Le Cailleret” vineyard is positioned. It abuts Grand Cru “Le Montrachet,” at the same point on the slope. How is it not classified Grand Cru? Well, while we think of the main côtes (slopes) of Burgundy—the Côtes de Nuits/Beaune—as being uniform in their aspect, there are subtle variations along the way. Le Cailleret faces more directly east in relation to the more southeasterly Le Montrachet, taking in marginally less direct sunlight as a result—enough for a ‘demotion’ to Premier Cru. In the most minutely parceled vineyard land on earth, no subtlety is overlooked!

As our Burgundy-loving membership is aware, Domaine de la Pousse d’Or is one of Burgundy’s blue-chip properties, known for resolutely traditional wines with a long track record for aging. Sourced from organically farmed vines of 30-40 years of age, this wine was fermented with indigenous yeast in French oak barriques, of which 50% were new. It was later aged for a year in the same 50-50 mix of new and used oak.

In the glass, the 2015 La Pousse d’Or 1er Cru “Le Cailleret” is a deep yellow-gold with slight green reflections at the rim. If consuming young, I would advise pulling the cork 12 hours before consuming. Or, give it a rough decanting about 2-3 hours before serving. Once this wine blossoms, you’ll encounter incredibly complex aromatics of white peach skin, yellow apple blossoms, quince, lime zest, crushed limestone, toasted hazelnuts, dried mushrooms and a hint of baking spice. We almost always advise taking a sneak-peak at wines now—even blue-chip bottles like this one—but, in this case, I really advise laying your bottles down and forgetting about them for 5-7 years. This wine will reward long aging (I don’t think 20 years is out of the question), and it is guaranteed to blossom into something special. When the time comes, serve it in large Burgundy stems at 55 degrees with the luxurious veal recipe attached. Just remember: patience is a virtue. I know it’s tough, but it will be worth it!

(And just one final reminder: The photo in this offer is of the 2014 vintage; be assured that it is the 2015 that we will be shipping you! Thanks — The SommSelect Wine Team)
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FrancePuligny-Montrachet / Cailleret Premier Cru
Soil
Limestone and Marl
Farming
Uncertified Organic and Biodynamic
Blend
Chardonnay
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
50% New French
TEMP.
55-60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2035
Decanting
2-3 Hours
Pairing
Veal Medallions with Morels

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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