Description
Domaine Albert Joly, Puligny-Montrachet “Les Tremblots”
We do not say the following lightly: Domaine Albert Joly’s 2019 “Les Tremblots” is a tremendous Puligny-Montrachet luxury that will dismantle—or at the very least, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with—any competition, no matter the price. Accordingly, we frantically seek out and hoard each new allocation whenever they’re made available. They very rarely are.
These lush, expansive, deeply immersive Chardonnay experiences (courtesy of old vines and close proximity to the Montrachet Grand Crus) serve as a valuable reminder that great white Burgundy has zero peers and deserves immeasurable praise. But tasting Joly’s new 2019s? My goodness, they evoked some of the most visceral and soul-stirring emotions imaginable, and “Les Tremblots” rocketed up my shortlist of current-release favorites. It is a perfectly sculpted Puligny with profound levels of mineral tension, energy, and intoxicating perfume alongside jaw-droppingly rich textures. As usual, it is a hyper-limited gem that deserves a $150+ price tag instead of its modest $79 one, so look no further if you want to acquire the pinnacle of authentic, top 1% white Burgundy! See the below note for access to an added bonus.
NOTE: There was a lot of excited chatter after we sold through the entire allocation of Joly’s 2018 Tremblots at the start of the year. Their importer was given 60 more bottles, so if you missed out the first time around or simply want to restock, click here for your limited chance.
Burgundy is full of family dynasties large and small, so while its physical landscape doesn’t change, its wine landscape is always in flux. This is not just a vintage-to-vintage thing, but a generation-to-generation thing; the constant, of course, is the vineyard land. So, while there’s nothing new about the lieu-dit “Les Tremblots” in Puligny-Montrachet, this stunning release will be a thrilling new discovery for many. That’s why wine importers the world over are forever combing the streets of Burgundy for tiny, impeccable producers like Domaine Albert Joly: Although Sylvie Prevot-Joly only began “estate-bottling” wines from her family’s vines in 2007, she’s already crafting wines that make you feel like you discovered fire!
The main reason so few bottles are available today, by the way, is that very few are made. The entire Joly estate consists of just 4.5 hectares of vineyards, all of them in the commune of Puligny-Montrachet—but not all channeled into her production. Sylvie and her brother-in-law, Gilles, continue to sell more than 80% of their fruit to négociants (merchants), as her father, Albert, had always done. The family’s parcel of “Les Tremblots,” which sits at Puligny’s border with Chassagne-Montrachet, just downslope from Bâtard-Montrachet, contains their oldest vines at approximately 60 years of age. With real estate this valuable, she’s practically obligated to hold back a small amount for proprietary bottling! And so she does, maturing the wines in 33% new French barrels for approximately 18 months. With the guidance of the lunar calendar, bottling occurs without fining.
This only tastes like one thing: ultra-expensive, cult-producer Puligny-Montrachet. And yet this extraordinary gem carries a price tag that avid blue-chip collectors and curious value seekers will both love. Given 30-45 minutes in a decanter and served in bulbous Burgundy stems, Joly’s 2019 “Les Tremblots” nearly stopped the hearts of our team with its extremely lush texture and piano-wire tension. Flaunting a bright silver-yellow core with hints of neon green, this blasts out of the glass with ripe pineapple, Bosc pear, baked yellow apple, white nectarine, lemon creme fraiche, crushed white stone, lime zest, bakings spice, vanilla bean, toasted hazelnut, lees, and honeysuckle. In addition to mastering Pulginy’s taut precision and vivid minerality, this is eerily close to matching the richness of Montachet’s Grand Crus. Ultimately, it’s a Chardonnay that will blow the minds of Burgundy’s most devoted and experienced drinkers. Certainly drink a bottle now if you’d like, but do save your others for consumption from 2023-2029+. Cheers!
