A Long-Lasting Legacy: François Carillon

The Carillon family has been growing grapes in Puligny-Montrachet for almost 500 years. Old written sources found in Puligny narrate the life and work of Jean Carillon as early as 1520. His family continued farming the land and the vineyard until the phylloxera crisis, which occurred in the late nineteenth century. Prosper and Jeanne Carillon then had to leave the region and work near Paris to provide for their needs but soon returned for the love of the land and farming vines. The entire estate was replanted after the First World War. In the 1960s, polyculture and livestock breeding were abandoned in favor of the almost exclusive culture of Chardonnay by Louis Carillon.

François started looking after the family vineyards in 1988 and worked together with his father Louis and brother Jacques until 2010 when the estate was split between the two brothers. Since 2010 and the creation of his own wine estate, François Carillon became a renowned reference in Puligny-Montrachet for the refinement of his wines. Supported by a dynamic and cohesive team of a dozen people, François deploys his energy and enthusiasm to constantly increase his products’ quality and elegance, thus pursuing the development of the family affair with as much ardor as in his early days. He ensures the future of the vineyard by transmitting his know-how and love of his work to his four children.

 

Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc 2018 $26.99

The grapes for the Bourgogne Chardonnay come from three plots located in Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. Crunchy with a nice acidity, this brilliant wine offers aromas of lime, pear, and peaches. Following the harvest, the wine is taken directly to ferment in small oak barrels, where it spends nearly a year and undergoes a light bâtonnage. It is blended and bottled about 16 months after harvest.

 

Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères 2018 $84.99

Les Enseignères is, for non-collectors, a relatively unknown vineyard, located just below Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet. While producing tremendous wines, it is perhaps somewhat over the top to claim that this vineyard is near grand cru quality-wise. It does, however, have some very fine attributes that I cherish and admire. The vineyard abuts the illustrious Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru vineyard and pack enough depth and power to go to toe-to-toe with some of the top Premier Cru vineyards in Puligny.

 

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Truffières 2018 $94.99

Les Truffières is a relatively rare vineyard in Puligny to find on a wine label. It sits higher than most comparable vineyards near the hamlet of Blagny. As the name suggests it is a former truffle-bed and produces wines of depth and power and the elevation gives it the backbone of acidity to really drive home its incredible quality.

 

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Gain 2018 $109.99

Ideally situated at the top of Mont Rachet, the Premier Cru "Les Champs Gains" is a classic representation of the appellation. The name of this parcel signifies "the fields reclaimed from the forest". "Les Champs Gains" benefits from a high altitude terroir (perched between 340 and 360 meters, near the hamlet of Blagny) that lends it a clear minerality. The vines, planted on shallow and rocky soil rich in clay and limestone, face southeast.