The 2012 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres had not been racked unlike the other premier crus that I tasted from cuves chez Chartron. It actually reminded me of Alain Chavy’s own Folatieres that I had tasted an hour earlier with inviting sensual scents of ripe mango and apricot emerging from the glass. The palate is well-balanced with good weight in the mouth. It needs perhaps a little more complexity and minerality toward the finish, but it is packed full of flavor and offers good length. Fine.
A hole had opened up in my itinerary when Philippe Colin had to cancel our rendezvous, (nothing personal – his 2012s had had to be racked and were not in representative condition.) What to do before my 5 p.m. meeting with Olivier Lamy? Walking back from Domaine Alain Chavy I popped my head round the door to see if Jean-Michel Charton was (a) there and (b)willing to show me his 2012s. As luck would have it, I was able to spend a profitable 90 minutes tasting through his whites. His wines have tended to be a little underrated out there in the market place. I have had more time for them than others and the 2012s attest to a producer that is improving with every passing vintage.
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