{"product_id":"2020-domaine-balland-curtet-puligny-montrachet-sous-le-puits-1er-cru","title":"2020 Domaine Balland-Curtet Puligny Montrachet Sous Le Puits 1er Cru","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom one of Puligny-Montrachet’s highest and most esteemed Premier Cru sites comes the 2020 Domaine Balland-Curtet Puligny-Montrachet Sous Le Puits 1er Cru, a Chardonnay of impressive depth and precision. Grown on old vines and crafted with care by Domaine Larue in Saint-Aubin, this white Burgundy balances richness and minerality in a way that will appeal to both classicists and curious enthusiasts. Its character already shines in youth, yet it has the structure to reward several years of patient cellaring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTasting Notes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the glass, this wine shows a bright, luminous straw-yellow hue with green highlights, signaling both freshness and concentration. The nose is refined and expressive, opening with buttered brioche and hazelnut, then unfolding into notes of white flowers, citrus zest, ripe stone fruits, and a delicate spice from well-judged oak.\n\nOn the palate, the 2020 Sous Le Puits is generous and rounded, recalling the texture and breadth often associated with neighboring Meursault, while still retaining Puligny’s hallmark tension and clarity. Creamy, buttery tones are balanced by a firm, chalky backbone and vibrant acidity, with layers of lemon curd, pear, and a touch of almond and sweet spice. The finish is long, saline, and subtly smoky, hinting at its deep limestone roots. You can enjoy it in its youth for its richness and aromatic expression, but it will gain complexity and harmony over 4–7 years, and likely evolve gracefully beyond that under proper cellaring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSous Le Puits is a high-lying Premier Cru parcel situated near Blagny, right on the border with the Meursault appellation, at around 360 meters altitude. The terroir is classic high-slope Puligny: deep clay-limestone soils over hard rock, with an east-facing exposure that captures the morning sun while preserving freshness and finesse. The Chardonnay vines, planted in 1951 at a dense 10,000 vines per hectare over a surface of just 0.2936 hectares, are Guyot-trained and meticulously managed. The soils are worked mechanically (hoed and tilled) and vineyard practices follow a sustainable philosophy, with careful disease control and green harvesting according to bud load.\n\nHarvest is carried out entirely by hand, with grapes collected in small crates to protect the fruit. After arrival at the winery, the bunches are lightly crushed to encourage gentle juice release before pressing in a pneumatic press. The must is then allowed to settle before being transferred by gravity into 228-liter oak barrels. Fermentation takes place in these Burgundian pièces, with around 20% new oak each year, sourced from regional coopers using fine-grained staves from the forests of Allier. The wine spends 12 months aging on fine lees to build texture and complexity, followed by blending and a further three months of refinement in barrel. A light fining and gentle filtration precede bottling, preserving purity and detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood \u0026amp; Serving\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis Premier Cru Puligny-Montrachet is a superb match for refined dishes where texture and delicacy are key. Think butter-poached lobster, seared scallops, turbot or sole with beurre blanc, or roasted chicken with morel cream sauce. It also pairs beautifully with rich shellfish, fine veal dishes, and creamy poultry terrines, as well as mature, nutty cheeses such as Comté, Beaufort, or aged Gruyère. Serve at 10–12°C (50–54°F) to showcase both its aromatic complexity and mineral definition. A gentle decant of 30 minutes to an hour before serving can help young bottles open up, allowing the buttery, spicy notes and subtle florality to fully emerge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProducer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDomaine Balland-Curtet is a small, quality-focused Burgundy estate with deep roots in Puligny-Montrachet, concentrating on wines that clearly express their individual terroirs. For this Sous Le Puits 1er Cru, the estate entrusts the cultivation, vinification, and élevage to Domaine Larue in nearby Saint-Aubin, a respected family domaine known for its precise, terroir-driven whites. Situated at the crossroads of some of the Côte de Beaune’s most prestigious appellations, the Larue family has built a reputation for meticulous vineyard work and thoughtful, low-intervention winemaking that highlights site over style. Their involvement in crafting this Puligny-Montrachet Sous Le Puits places the wine firmly within the tradition of fine white Burgundy: elegant, age-worthy, and unmistakably linked to its high-slope terroir.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Balland-Curtet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54251850694993,"sku":"GCW-MMUI-20241110-5","price":100.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0874\/0614\/9969\/files\/5d972f2d-75e0-47a7-a458-2fd11860a74c.png?v=1783441839","url":"https:\/\/bottlehero.com\/products\/2020-domaine-balland-curtet-puligny-montrachet-sous-le-puits-1er-cru","provider":"Bottle Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}