Smart Money is on Carillon
2008 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet
White Burgundy for the Cellar or Table, at Under $50
Time and time again, there it is: Carillon, stashed in well-considered cellars right alongside Leflaive, Coche, Ramonet, Lafon.
Today we offer just such a bottle for the well-considered cellar - and one that will work just as nicely on the well-considered dinner table. Carillon Puligny-Montrachet from the purists’-favorite 2008 vintage. Under $50.
When you break it down, there’s really only a handful of truly great producers in Puligny. Carillon is one of them. This is actually one of the oldest houses on record in Puligny: The domaine tracks its history here back to 1520, and it’s been passed down generation by generation since 1632. Clive Coates in his Côte d'Or succinctly said: "This is a seriously good family domaine."
Stylistically, Carillon wines are layered, textural, equal balances of fruit and flower and mineral curving in a more opulent, more flowing form. Yet they also have a sense of humility, a certain restraint that we greatly admire - though one that’s also kept them just out of the limelight.
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Still, even as these have traditionally sat slightly in the shadows of the bigger white Burgundy players, the smart collectors have always kept Carillon in their pocket. As mentioned above, check out great cellars stuffed with white Burgundy, and Carillon is almost always there, backing up the Leflaives, the Coches, the Ramonets and Lafons.
Recently, Carillon has been picking up steam. Two main reasons for this: First, Carillon goes for a fraction the price of the Burgundy bigwigs. While more and more people are collecting and drinking white Burgundy, more and more people are looking for great value in white Burgundy. Second, Carillon’s been seriously stepping up its game of late, bottling more wine in-house, ramping up quality through decreased vineyard treatments and less intervention in the winery. They’re working with purer and purer fruit; the results, clearly, are purer and purer expressions of their noble Puligny terroir.
As for today’s wine, it comes from 11 different parcels dotted around Puligny, so it shows a well-rounded, considered and classic demonstration of the commune. That driving line of Puligny minerality and acidity is very present, that intensity and definition are on perfect display.
The great 2008 vintage, a favorite for the purists, also played its part to deliver both ripe fruit and gorgeous freshness underscoring minerals. As the Burghound’s notes articulate, this is “racy, delicious, balanced and persistent.” He summarizes: “An excellent villages with plenty of verve.”
This verve will keep the bottle going in a cool cellar for another five years, no problem, though you’d also do very well to enjoy one of these one night soon with a pan of seared bay scallops or a big bowl of freshly made chowder. We've specially priced four-packs today to highlight the value as well as longevity here.
To order, please reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Burghound: "A very fresh and ripe nose offers notes of white flower, citrus and pear that complement rich, naturally sweet and plump middle weight flavors that are racy, delicious, balanced and persistent. This is an excellent villages with plenty of verve."