Puligny 'Pucelles'..... Ch. Canon..... Clos de la Roche..... Clos St. Denis.....

9/98. Acquired in auction Nov-95 for $90 (imported for $100 net)
Perhaps the best 1er Cru vineyard in Puligny-Montrachet, Les Pucelles - especially by the hands of Domaine Leflaive - can be a sensational wine.
COLOR: Very nice medium-deep straw color.
NOSE: Profound and yielding yet elegant and restrained. Complex citrus fruit with flowery bouquet and a touch of honey. Clean nose with the right amount of wood that enhanced, not overpowered.
TASTE: Strong, mouthfilling and very complex. Less fat than a good Meursault, less minerally and steely than a Corton Charlemagne, this fantastic Pucelles was the best expression of a great Puligny I have tasted in a long long time.
LENGTH: Medium long reverberating aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied white (B). Ample fruit, superb acidity, judicious wood and plenty of winyness and structure. Perfectly balanced and totally harmonious.
OVERALL: Extraordinary!! Better than many Montrachet-family Grand Crus I've had. Perfectly ready now but will last for years to come.
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

9/98. Acquired in auction July-97 for $100 (imported for $110 net).
Not being a Bordeaux freak, I confess to having a softer spot for the best of the luscious St. Emilion wines than for the more austere and 'intellectual' Medocs...
COLOR: Amazingly dark for a sixteen-years-old wine. Hardly any clearing around the rim, though a decent amount of sediment rested at the bottle bottom.
NOSE: Beautiful enticing aromas of both mature and young fruit. Additional earthy elements enhance the complex bouquet. Very deep, pleasurable and impressive nose.
TASTE: Smooth and velvety on the palate, full of fruit and winyness. Deep and serious yet extremely tasty. A rare combination of grip and harmony, the wine went deliciously with the shrimp dish!
LENGTH: Very very long aftertaste, accentuated by the good acidity at the finish.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied, perfectly rounded and mature. Complex fruit, soft tannins, good acidity, velvet texture - all combine to yield a perfectly harmonious great wine.
OVERALL: Extraordinary!! Even better than the last bottle I had some 18 months ago. At its absolute peak now.
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

9/98. This wine was brought by Oded Lerer. I bought the same for $62 in May-96.
(This wine was tasted alongside with the Clos St. Denis. See below.)
Both Clos de la Roche and Clos St. Denis are Grand Cru vineyards from the commune of Morey-St. Denis. Usually the Clos de la Roche is considered the better and the longer keeping of the two.
COLOR: Good (B) color with some clearing around the rim. No noticeable sediment. Similar in appearance to the Clos St. Denis.
NOSE: Delicate combination of subdued fruit and 'Bourgogne Nose'. Quite harmonious and elegant nose though not as powerful as the Clos St. Denis.
TASTE: Smooth and pleasant on the palate. Much better than the last time I had this wine, but still a bit too 'delicate' IMHO. Very tasty and faultless, just not as concentrated as this wine could and should be.
LENGTH: Medium but pleasant aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied with very good balance though medium structure. Fruit, tannins acidity and winyness are all there. Perfectly balanced but in a low-key fashion.
OVERALL: Superb. Perhaps more expressive of the delicate (B) style than the Clos St. Denis, but with a bit less of a statement to make.
MARK: 18/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Maybe.

9/98. Acquired in auction July-97 for $105 (imported for $115 net).
(This wine was tasted alongside with the Clos de la Roche. See above.)
Both Clos de la Roche and Clos St. Denis are Grand Cru vineyards from the commune of Morey-St. Denis. Usually the Clos de la Roche is considered the better and the longer keeping of the two.
COLOR: Good (B) color with some clearing around the rim. No noticeable sediment. Similar in appearance to the CdR.
NOSE: Abundant fresh cherry aroma bursting out of the glass. Deep, expressive nose with complex (though perhaps not very delicate) 'Bourgogne Nose'. Very enticing!
TASTE: Mouthfilling and concentrated. Again, less delicate but more flavorful than the Clos de la Roche. Simply delicious on the palate with ripe fruit, good acidity and round tannins.
LENGTH: Medium but pleasant aftertaste. Similar to the CdR.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium-full body. More of an extrovert than the CdR. Good grip structure and balance, if perhaps somewhat a-typical (B) in its constitution.
OVERALL: Superb-plus! A truly wonderful effort from Jacques Seysses. At least for the first 90 minutes or so this wine was better than the CdR. After about two hours, the remaining wine in the glass turned coarse while the CdR stayed the same.
MARK: 18.5/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.