The 2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet is very impressive, revealing lovely aromas of waxy lemon rind, mandarin, dried white flowers and a subtle touch of musky peach on the upper register. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, glossy and textural, with a fleshy, dramatic core of fruit underpinned by an attractive line of animating acidity, concluding with a saline finish. This is a front-loaded but serious Champ Canet that should offer a broad drinking window.
This small six-hectare domaine located in the heart of Puligny-Montrachet is making rapid strides. Philippe Pernot (a scion of the Paul Pernot dynasty) launched the Pernot Belicard label in 2009, gradually selling less and less to the négociants. In the vineyards, he cultivates the soils, de-buds aggressively and takes pains to retain his old vines in good health. The grapes are harvested by hand, with Philippe typically among the earlier pickers in the village. Since 2014, there's more sorting, the grapes passing over a shaker table before being whole cluster pressed. Initially, the wines were bottled to make room for the new vintage, but Philippe, evidently an enquiring mind, felt that something was missing: now, the wines stay in barrel until August, but spend an additional three to six months in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks with the fine lees. The result, he contends (and I concur), are wines that are more integrated and complete. These are already very good wines, and Philippe possesses some enviable parcels, but it is his desire to refine and improve that marks this out as an estate to watch. William Kelley
