2013 Puligny Montrachet Champ Canet

Pale yellow. Very ripe, open-knit aromas of peach, apricot and brioche. Conveys a slightly exotic aspect and a suggestion of surmaturité to its flavors of apricot, papaya and honey, but bracing acidity keeps this very concentrated wine in focus. Finishes with a tannic firmness and a lingering note of orange zest. The yield here was just 25 hectoliters per hectare, essentially identical to 2014. This wine will need time in bottle to communicate its full personality.

Tasted blind at the annual “Burgfest” tasting in Bouilland. The 2013 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet offers more topical tones than its peers, touches of dried pineapple and grapefruit here, the oak not quite as well assimilated as the Champs Canet from Chateau de Meursault tasted alongside. The palate is well balanced with green apple and citrus fruit on the entry. Modest weight in the mouth, the acidity is well judged and it seems harmonious and refined on the smooth and slightly honeyed finish. Maybe conservative or maybe just closed up a touch? Yet still this is well crafted and delivers plenty of flavor. Tasted May 2016. Nov 2016, www.robertparker.com