Jean Chartron Puligny Montrachet
If you have ever stood in the vineyards in Puligny Montrachet you likely took a photo of the famous arch that sits at the entrance to the Chartron family plot in Chevalier Montrachet.
It is one of the most iconic spots and gives you a tremendous panorama of all the famous vineyards of Puligny Montrachet. You can actually drive your car up to it, if you don’t mind a little off-roading!
The Chartron family was a huge land owner in the 1920’s, owning significant plots in Chevalier, Caillerets and Pucelles, to name a few. There is some great information about these notable vineyards on the website Wine Hog for those of you looking for specifics beyond what I’m about to highlight.
The real superstar in the lineup is the Chevalier Montrachet, but those not looking to take out a second mortgage, need look no farther than the 1er Cru of Clos du Caillerets which I’m offering here today.
The Clos du Cailleret is an amazing wine and one for which I always look. Chartron’s vineyard is located in the northern section of Caillerets and represents the oldest Chardonnay plantings, circa 1955. Throwback to the 1920’s and they were by far the largest landowner with ownership of most of present day Caillerets. In those days, it was primarily planted to Pinot Noir. Substantial inheritance tax in the 1990’s forced the sale of roughly 2 hectares, leaving them with a little over 1 ha of vines today. The vineyard is surrounded by tall stone walls, and represents some of the oldest vines in the vineyard. The small triangle plot on the southern end is still planted to pinot noir.
If you look at the map, you are squarely in Puligny-Montrachet’s high-rent district, and its easy to see why Les Caillerets ranks among the village’s most elite Premier Cru vineyards. Its name Caillerets, meaning “stony place” reflects the vineyard’s pebble-rich, limestone soils, which are a cornerstone of Puligny’s renowned, mineral-driven style. With almost the exact same slope and sun exposure as the legendary Montrachet Grand Cru, immediately to the south, Les Caillerets channels that limestone foundation into a wine of penetrating energy, precision, and chiseled minerality. Few sites capture Puligny’s classic tension and cut as vividly, and when you consider the price of many of the wines that surround it, Jean Chartron’s Clos du Caillerets offers the discerning connoisseur some incredible bang for the buck. I offer the 2022 version of this wine last year and it disappeared in a matter of hours. Limited quantities available
The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Clos du Cailleret ler Cru has more precision and mineralité compared to the Clos de la Pucelle at this stage. It's vibrant and poised, with real drive and energy. The palate is concentrated and lightly spiced, with a keen line of acidity and plenty of energy and penetratión on the finish. This represents an outstanding contribution to the vintage. I suspect it will land at the top of my banded score.
- Neal Martin, 93-95
One of the paler colours with an intense but unforthcoming nose. A concentrated raft of white fruit through the middle, then a more electric mineral finish. There is both more flesh and a little more wood showing, compared to Pucelles. Fine length. Drink from 2029-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.
- Jasper Morris, 92-94
Here too the wood treatment is deft yet perceptible on the nose of citrus, wet stone, white flowers and pretty spice wisps. The super-sleek and almost painfully intense middle weight flavors where the palate feel is akin to rolling a small pebble around the mouth before culminating in a clean and bone-dry though not particularly austere finale. This very firmly structured effort could use more depth so at least a few years of keeping will be necessary. Excellent.
- Burghound, 91-94 Outstanding
