Wine Advisor
Genot Boulanger, Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru comes from 0.35 hectares of vine located toward the southern flank. It has a lightly spiced bouquet, quite forward and slightly nutty in style, more like a Meursault. The palate is well balanced with red apple, orange pith and tangerine on the entry, a fine bead of acidity and good depth. What I would like to see is more Puligny-like character here, something that I think would be expressed more in a cooler growing season. A capable La Garenne, but I suspect there are better ones in other vintages.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Puligny-Montrachet La Garenne 1er Cru comes from 0.35 hectares of vine located toward the southern flank. It has a lightly spiced bouquet, quite forward and slightly nutty in style, more like a Meursault. The palate is well balanced with red apple, orange pith and tangerine on the entry, a fine bead of acidity and good depth. What I would like to see is more Puligny-like character here, something that I think would be expressed more in a cooler growing season. A capable La Garenne, but I suspect there are better ones in other vintages.
About the Producer
The Domaine began its history as the life-long dream of two Parisian pharmacists, Charles-Henri Génot and his wife Marie Boulanger, that was realised when they moved to Meursault and purchased vineyards in Mercurey in 1974. They began to gradually build up the Domaine with further acquisitions in the Côte d'Or including Meursault, Volnay and Chassagne. In 1995 the Domaine expanded again into the Côte de Nuits, Corton and Aloxe-Corton Clos du Chapitre. By 1998 Francois Delaby had inherited 22 prime hectares of vineyard area in Burgundy. He was joined by daughter Aude and son in law Guillaume Lavollée who, in turn, took over the running of the Domaine in 2008, becoming the fourth family generation of the estate's history. Aude and Guillaume were clear on their mission from the off - to produce wines that express the complexity and finesse of their great Burgundian terroirs - recognising the quality of the vineyard to be the most important factor to get right. So they began their tenure by concentrating on viticulture and the health of the soil, starting conversion to organic farming - a process that ended with full certification in 2018. Winemaking follows a non-interventionist approach. For reds whole bunches are included during fermentation to a small degree when appropriate, or equally berries are completely de-stalked depending on the vintage. Fermentations are with indigenous yeasts and extractions are gentle. The wines are aged with 20% new oak barrels for 12 months followed by 6 months ageing in tank.
