Domaine de Cherisey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagney 2011 (750 ml)

The 2011 Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny showed perplexingly when tasted blind earlier in 2014, but encountering it once more at the domaine, the SO2 has cleared to reveal a lovely Puligny. It has a really wonderful bouquet with orange zest, lime and honeysuckle aromas that have a touch more complexity than the 2012. This has a very saline/marine influenced bouquet with crisp acidity and hints of almond and bruised apple toward the finish that has a lovely flinty aftertaste. This is a very fine Puligny-Montrachet that should mature nicely over 8-10 years.91 points from Robert Parker, The Wine AdvocateWinery Notes:The lost hamlet of Blagny, up in the hills between Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault in the Cte dOr in Burgundy, is home to Domaine Comtesse Bernard de Chrisey. You may have heard the name Blagny before, attached to a bottle of premier cru Meursault-Blagny, or perhaps even a bottle of the increasingly rare Blagny rouge. Monks were the first inhabitants, planting vines in the 14th century. This almost magical, lost-in-time corner of the world boasts a unique microclimate, with a slightly different average temperature, exposition and soil than the rest of Burgundy. In our humble opinion, our friend and vigneron, Laurent Martelet, creates the most haunting masterpieces that emerge from this terroir. Laurent bottles the wines we import under the Comtesse Bernard de Chrisey label named in honor of his wife Hlnes mother, who inherited their vines and passed them on to Hlne, who works side by side with Laurent.All of the de Chrisey vines are premier cru, are at least 60 years old, and they encircle their ancient cellar in the Hameau de Blagny. Their Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny is from vines on the south side of Blagny, level with the village, just above Puligny Truffires. It is a wine that combines the power and richness of Meursault with the ethereal finesse of Puligny. Laurents Puligny-Montrachet1er Cru Les Chalumaux is from vines just below Blagny, between the aforementioned Truffires and Meursault-Perrires. If you were a Chardonnay vine it wouldnt be a bad place to put down your roots. The wine is loaded with white limestone and gives a very fine, intensely focused white Burgundy, trs Puligny, screaming with minerality. It doesnt have the renown of its neighbors, but it should. The de Chrisey Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Genelotte is from a vineyard just north of Blagny, on the Meursault side of course, high on the slope above the village. The wine is a powerful, classic, long-lived Meursault. The Genelotte vineyard is also a monopole meaning Laurent and Hlne are sole proprietors.