PULIGNY MONTRACHET

2017 1er Cru Folatières Domaine des Lambrays

EN PRIMEUR

Lovely clean and bright attack. Good breadth too - but a just pithy, fresh, lemony drive of fruit. Clean and beautifully textured. Creamy almost. Harvested 31 August. To avoid premox they have been measuring oxygen levels throughout the process, in barrel before bottling. Boris is all about the detail - (as you would hope from someone running such a prestigious domaine!) he tells us that 99.9% of corks are still washed with peroxide, he worries this is one of the reasons for premox so he sources others that are washed with SO2. Drinking range: 2020 - 2027L&S (Nov 2018)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

Tight limey citrus. Really crisp but rich in fruit too, more lemon on the palate, bright but deep. Smooth yet with a slight pear grain adding density and freshness. Chalky aftertaste. Drinking range: 2019 - 2024 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)

Aromas of lemon oil, mandarin, crisp green apple and honeycomb introduce the 2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive wine with good concentration, tangy acids and a long, mineral finish. Rating: 91-93 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2019)

The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru was picked August 31 and matured in 50% new oak, 50% one year old. It has a vibrant, effervescent bouquet with scents of Japanese yuzu, orange pith and crushed stone. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry and slightly waxier in texture compared to previous bottles, leading to a precise if not persistent finish. This is a well-made Puligny that seems to gain spiciness with aeration. Very fine. Drinking range: 2020 - 2032 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 'Clos' consists of 8.66 hectares of land enclosed by a wall in which there is the original milestone marking its founding in 1365, confirmed in the records of the Abbaye de Citeaux (those monks knew where to place a vineyard). The Clos owes much of its current fame to the nineteenth and twentieth century proprietors who reconstituted it after the fragmentation of ownership which followed the French revolution. Despite always having been considered a Grand Cru site, the Clos was in fact classified Premier Cru in the original 1936 appellations contrôlées.

The Rodier family which owned it from the 1930s fought to regain its Grand cru status, with eventual success only in 1981, when it became the last of the thirty-three Grands Crus of Burgundy, although by then it had passed to the Saier family. Recently under the benign ownership of the Günther Freund and his family, who gave a very free hand to régisseur Thierry Brouin, who had been employed by their predecessor Rolland Pelletier de Chambure, the quality of the wines here has pushed up again. In 2014 it was bought by the LVMH group.

It has been all rather quick change here as Jacques Devauge has taken over here after a short interregnum under Boris Champy. The legacy of Thierry Brouin can still be felt, Jacques decribing him as having been 'clairvoyant' in his approach to the domaine, which has set it up well to deal with challenges of warmer vintages. Jacques seems set to take this estate onward - 'every domaine has to challenge itself to do better', he says. 2019 marks the second year being fully organic - if all goes well they will be certified after another two.

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STORAGE OPTIONS:

Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your primeur order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.

BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.

PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.

DELIVERY - TIMING: This is a primeur offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery. They will be shipped to the UK over the next eighteen months. Generally, wines are shipped to your nominated location once the whole order has landed in our London City Bond account. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.

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