Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 'Le Cailleret', Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, 2018
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 'Le Cailleret', Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, 2018
- 75cl
- 13%
- White Still
- Chardonnay
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Optimal drinking window: 2027 - 2038
Few names in white Burgundy carry quite the swagger of Le Cailleret, the Puligny premier cru that sits a mere stone's throw from Montrachet itself and, on its day, can give the grand cru a run for its money. This 2018 from Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, a Volnay-based estate better known for its reds but increasingly assured with white, delivers all the tension and perfume the vineyard promises without ever feeling austere. The 2018 vintage gave generous ripeness in Burgundy, and here that warmth is held in check by Cailleret's limestone backbone.
Expect white blossom, lemon zest and a flinty, saline edge that sharpens on the finish, with the toasted, nutty richness of good barrel ageing woven through rather than draped over the top.
Le Cailleret sits on a mid-slope band of shallow, free-draining limestone and clay soils, immediately adjacent to Le Montrachet, sharing much of its exposure and drainage if not quite its depth of soil. The vines face east to southeast, catching morning sun while avoiding the full intensity of afternoon heat, which helps preserve acidity even in warmer vintages like 2018. It's this proximity to grand cru ground, geologically rather than administratively, that gives the wine its mineral drive and why growers and buyers alike treat Cailleret with such reverence.
Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru covers a patchwork of vineyards on the slopes above the village, each with its own character but united by the commune's reputation for the most precise, mineral-driven Chardonnay in Burgundy. Le Cailleret is widely considered the finest of these premier crus, bordering Le Montrachet and sometimes bottled as 'Les Demoiselles' by certain producers. Compared to neighbouring Meursault, Puligny tends towards a tighter, more linear style, with less overt richness and more focus on structure and length.
Burgundy growers will tell you that 2018 was the vintage that reminded them why they fell in love with their vineyards in the first place. A glorious summer of sustained warmth without the punishing heat that can strip freshness from Pinot Noir, followed by cool nights that preserved the acidity. The flowering went smoothly, fruit set was generous, and harvest arrived early but without panic—exactly the sort of classical growing season that becomes rarer each decade.
What landed in the cellars was Burgundy at its most seductive: Pinot Noir with real depth of colour and fruit concentration, yet still dancing on its toes rather than plodding along. The Chardonnays show beautiful ripeness balanced by that crucial mineral backbone, particularly from the better sites in Chablis and the Côte de Beaune. We're drinking these wines now with enormous pleasure—they hit that sweet spot where primary fruit hasn't faded but the tannins have softened into silk. The top cuvées will cellar beautifully for another decade, but frankly, why wait?
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