Burgundy Visit: Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair

Tasting with Jacques Carillon is always a pleasure. These are bellwether wines for any given vintage. They always give you an insight into what is possible from a specific year, such is the crystalline purity of the wines. I’m not sure there is anyone who consistently makes better village Puligny than Jacques, and his Bienvenues is one of the greatest wines of Burgundy. The 2020 will certainly be vying for white wine of the vintage honours for mine. We thank Jacques for his true generosity and time he spends with us each year. His 2020’s from bottle and 2021’s from barrel were splendid.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet: Grapefruit, white peach and wisteria. Classic Puligny finesse and balance. Fresh and detailed, so moreish.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet: Light florals and mineral complexity. Already open but such finesse. Silky texture and a long finish of poise and elegance.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières: Intense white peach fruit. The palate oozes minerality and has great shape. There’s strict line and fabulous length of flavour.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts: White peach, aniseed and flint. Complex and layered with sneaky power. Quite chalky on the long finish. It is all here just waiting to blossom with bottle age.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Delicate but so complex and intense. There are notes of citrus, chalk, white peach and blossom. It has wonderful presence in the mouth and squint inducing acidity. Balance is supreme, with every sip being a delight. The finish is insanely long. Close to perfection.

2021 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet: Fresh, lemon, lime and grapefruit notes for now. Tight and lean.

2020 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet: There’s white peach with a touch of spice. It has a cool feel with a light stoniness to the fine finish.

2021 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières: Lovely balance. Fresh orchard fruits trimmed with mineral flavour. There’s a fruit sweet heart, nice proportion and some bitter citrus rind freshness to the finish.

2021 Domaine Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts: Complex but fine. Mineral structure, crisp fruits and some aniseed spice. Lively finish, very persistent.

2021 Domaine Jacques Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Very fine, very citrus. It slowly builds through the palate, supported by a rigid spine of grapefruit and chalk. So contained yet regal and giving just a glimpse of what is to come.
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Thanks for the notes Jeremy. I would love to taste with Jacques. Sadly, I think the local allocation has quartered in the last couple of years (probably gone to Oz :wink:!), but I’m glad I can still get decent quantities of the Village at least. An excellent wine that consistently ages pretty smartly too.

I don’t reckon the allocation has come here Rauno. Mine has been trimmed over the years and the Importer is a great mate of mine!

How would you compare '20 and '21 to '19? Like you, I very much enjoyed the 19 village Puligny.

Yup, love the village Puligny, which I buy whenever I am offered it.

That 2020 Bienvenue certainly sounds extraordinary–lucky dog!

I had both the 2019 and 2020 (out of tank) in October when I visited, and the 20 has more depth and power, especially on the mid-palate. 20 is a great vintage in general, but Jacques particularly hit it out of the park.

Am glad to see he has some 21 1er cru, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make any when I visited in October.

super notes and experience.

I personally love these wines - big thanks for the notes. I remember tasting the '10s at the winery right before bottling - special stuff and think the Referts and BBM are top wines. You’re right about the BBM as I consistently get citric driven peach from it especially with age - a signature characteristic for me. CHEERS Jeremy!

Hi Zac,

2020 might be the best I have tasted at Carillon, from top to bottom. Rich and intense but light on their feet. '19’s are very good but maybe just a notch below '20. The '21’s are a bit leaner, but promising. They don’t have the weight of the previous few vintages but balance is good and they are fine.

Cheers
Jeremy

Great notes Jeremy, thank you. Carrillon is always such a pleasure, regardless of vintage. Can’t wait to try the 2020’s.

Agreed. Carillon is something special.

Francois ain’t too shabby either.

I would say Francois’ wines are at least an order below Jacques’, if not more.

I added a picture. That’s Rauno’s allocation in the background.

I believe Jacques got the BBM and Francois got the Referts after the split in around 2010 of the Louis Carillon holdings? Can’t recall right now how the rest was split…

Yup, that’s right. Jacques had been making the wines for about a decade by then under the Louis label. Francois got the Combettes and the Champ Gains - I believe those are the 1er crus Jacques didn’t get. Francois also makes some negoce wines (including a Chevalier), while all of Jacques’ wines are Domaine.

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Jeremy, it is good to hear that you are back in Burgundy, as it is alway good, vicarious fun for the board. And, you are off to a fast start with the J. Carillon’s lasers. Thank you for the notes and I look forward to more.

Back home now Martin. Finally had a chance to type up some notes.

Anne-Marie and Jean-Marc Vincent were once again in fine form as we arrived at their cellars to taste before heading off for a leisurely luncheon with them. We got to taste through the full range of 2020’s, and what a set of wines they are. Perfumed, powerful, balanced and structured. It is all here, and the whites are as equally brilliant as the reds.

These two have worked so hard in their vineyards and cellar and the resultant wines are some of the very best of the Côte d’Or. We are so pleased to see the widespread recognition that they are now receiving.

This is Jean-Marc’s take on his viticultural practices:

  • Per hectare of vines, 900 hours of handwork, double of Burgundian average time
  • Ultra-light mechanization to avoid soil compaction, permanent grass cover
  • High density plantings (15,000 feet hectares) with old fine « massales selections »
  • Preservation of very old, low productive vines (70 to 80 years)
  • Doubling foliage height for quality and protecting grapes from the sun
  • No-trimming of pinots and manual trimming of chardonnays for more respect of the vine
  • always moderate yields for more quality

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Bourgogne Blanc: Made from premium quality fruit and it shows. It is fresh and vibrant, with lemon fruit profile and plenty of minerality. It has excellent depth for its level and is persistent.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Montagny 1er Cru Blanc: A delightful lemon butter character to this wine. It is fine and fresh, chalky, intense, linear and long.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Blanc: There’s white peach here, trimmed with spice. It is full and flinty.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay Les Potets Blanc: A energetic and fresh wine, crammed full of lemon, lime and white peach fruits. The nose has a highly perfumed scent of citrus blossom.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay Les Vignes Denses: Off vines planted at a density of 14k vines per hectare. It is sappy and dense but possesses great energy. There’s intense orchard fruits and some spice. The finish is cut with lemon and mineral and it has prodigious length.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Auxey-Duresses Les Hautes: Very fine, with white flower and citrus notes. Rich but contained and possesses a high tensile, mineral spine. Super long.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Gravières Blanc: Rich, dense and chewy but light on its feet. So much fleshy, white peach here. It is layered and has great presence and drive. Should be wonderful with a bit of bottle age.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Beaurepaire Blanc: Exquisite balance and finesse. Beautifully delineated and perfect interplay between delicate fruits and mineral characters. There are some white flower scents and such great drive to the finish.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Puligny-Montrachet Les Corvées des Vignes: This wine has terrific shape. There’s a fruit sweet heart of peach. It is cut with minerals. There’s good volume and finish that persists, leaving a spicy imprint.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay Vieilles Vignes Rouge: Aromas of red berry and aniseed. It has good fruit intensity and a creamy/velvety mid-palate. It builds and finishes with fresh mineral cut. Length is very good.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Bretterins Rouge: Red berry fruit. Flesh over stony structure. Good depth and presence in the mouth. Finishes with cherry fruit flavour.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Beaurepaire: Such a delightful perfume…rose petals and red fruits. It is a pretty and elegant wine. There are savoury traits lurking. It really fans out on the finish and is a delight to drink young, although I don’t doubt it will age for a very long time.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Passetemps: Very floral nose. Again, quite red fruited and stony. It is bright and energetic, with a chewy finish.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Gravières: Rich and intense, with a core of delicious cherry fruit. There’s minerally detail and waves of flavour. It builds through the palate and is so expansive at the end. Quite brilliant.

2019 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay Gravité: Always released a year later than the other wine. Ripe berry, plum and ginger. Rich and succulent, layered and long. So powerful with loads of lingering floral spice.

An after luncheon walk through Passetemps and careful inspection of vine and soil health shows just where the quality at this Domaine all starts. Anne-Marie and Jean-Marc have so much respect for the land they tend, and it pays dividends.

Disclaimer: We import the Jean-Marc Vincent wines into Australia.
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lovely report. Give them some grand cru vineyards.