Geography
Puligny-Montrachet sits in the southern Côte de Beaune, between Meursault to the north and Chassagne-Montrachet to the south. The vineyards run up a single gently-east-facing slope, with the village itself perched at mid-slope. The bedrock is shallow limestone: the same Bathonian and Bajocian limestone that runs under Chevalier-Montrachet and Le Montrachet just up the road.
Classification
The Grand Crus sit on a single hill above the village, on the boundary between Puligny and Chassagne. Puligny is unique in Burgundy in that nearly all its production is white: the village has almost no red wine at all.
Style of the wines
Puligny Chardonnay is more vertical and tense than Meursault and more austere than Chassagne. The trademark profile is lemon, white peach, crushed seashell, white flower, and a stony mineral spine that holds the wine together even in warmer vintages. Top examples drink for fifteen to twenty-five years from vintage. Premier Crus to know: Les Pucelles, Les Combettes, Les Caillerets, Le Champ Canet, Les Folatières.
Why it matters
Puligny-Montrachet is the dry white wine that most other regions of the world try to make. Its combination of finesse, mineral intensity, and aging capacity has set the standard for serious Chardonnay since the 19th century. The Grand Crus, particularly Le Montrachet, are among the most expensive dry white wines made.
Producers we know
Domaine Leflaive is the reference, biodynamic since the 1990s and at the top of the village hierarchy. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey and Hubert Lamy work in adjacent appellations and overlap into Puligny.