The Carillon family has been making wine in the village of Puligny-Montrachet since the 16th century, beginning with Jehan Carillon, who was a vintner in Puligny in 1520. After completing his studies at the winemaking school in Beaune, France, Jacques Carillon joined his father in the family vineyard in 1980. His specializations include winemaking and marketing.
In 2010, Jacques and his wife Sylvia founded the Jacques Carillon vineyard with 5.25 hectares of vines, primarily in the village of Puligny-Montrachet. Unfortunately, the Domaine's production is very small, given notoriety and a craze now worldwide for its wines, real paragons of what must be a great timeless Puligny-Montrachet! This is even more true on this 2019 vintage, which will very quickly be untraceable: it is barely half a harvest that has entered the cellars of the Domaine.
The 2018 Puligny-Montrachet Les Perrières 1er Cru is a blend of two cuvées that Jacques Carillon combined for me, the vines originating from the bottom of the vineyard. It has a complex bouquet of green apples, orange pith, and crushed stone, tense and steely as a Puligny should be. The palate is underpinned by superb acidity that cuts through the richness and power of this Les Perrières. Long and deep on the finish. Yes!
Firm reduction overshadows the underlying fruit today. However, there is a wonderfully textured, even seductive, mouthfeel to the muscular yet refined middle weight plus flavours that brim with dry extract that also serves to buffer the moderately firm acid spine while delivering good but not truly special length. However, I suspect that once this cleans up the persistence will improve with it.