2017 - Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret, Domaine de Montille

The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets offers up a nuttier, more reductive bouquet than the Folatières, wafting from the glass with notions of toasted bread, lime zest and crisp green apple. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and tangy, with a tense, tight-knit core, chewy dry extract and good grip on the long finish. It's one of the high points of de Montille's 2017 collection.

The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru has a very fragrant bouquet offering touches of honeysuckle, orange zest, crushed stone and later more blood orange aromas. The palate is balanced, linear and fairly conservative after the aromatics. Maybe this is beginning to close up? After an initial period when it seems buttoned down, this Pucelles blossoms with aeration to reveal a gorgeous, refined, spicy finish with impressive persistence. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting in Savigny-lès-Beaune.

Tank sample. 60-year-old vines. Half in large-format oak and half in 228-litre barrels. 25% new oak.Subtle smoky reduction. A little more so on the palate but has lovely texture and richness from the lees, all the while with intense crisp citrus at the core. Smart wine, with texture and precision and a long, long finish. Tight and stony at the very end. (JH)