The Puligny Montrachet Clos du Cailleret is truly of Grand Cru quality. It explodes from the glass with ginger, star anise, and profound underlying mineral components. This beautifully extracted, delineated and concentrated wine serves up spices, almonds and a long finish. It should be cellared for 5 years and drunk over the following 10 to 15. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. Trebuchet believes young white wines, especially his, deserve to be afforded the same right to breathe as red wines before being consumed. He recommends decanting them a half hour or more before they are served. Olivier Humbrecht of the Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace shares a similar belief, convincing me a number of years ago of the beneficial characteristics breathing can add to his wines. The goal of this firm is to produce firm, elegant wines that are made for the long haul. These are not big leesy, flamboyant wines because Jean Chartron and Louis Trebuchet do not believe that style of white will age well. Trebuchet stated that "overly stirring the lees covers a wine's finesse and typicity more than oak ever could."
Importers: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, New York, NY; tel (212) 924-4949, and Bacchus Importers, Baltimore, MD; (800) 525-9699.