2022 Horizontal face off of Chassagne-Montrachet vs Puligny-Montrachet

Nice horizontal line up of '22s with one producer with their respective fruits they get vs another. Also, it was pointed out that it should be kept in mind that these wines aren't exactly THE representation of these regions.. a good reminder to keep things fair.

• 2022 Domaine Pernot-Bélicard Chardonnay Bourgogne Côte d'Or 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Côte d'Or

  Nose: A field of wheat and grass, gently honeyed stone fruits while still keeping a sense of crispness, and some crushed stone.
  
  Palate: A thin membrane of salinity coats the fruits (really nice touch), bitterness from the stone fruit pits pierces the weighty fruits, with grass and minerals that linger onto the finish.
  
  Nice complexity here with a sense of freshness.

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• 2022 Château de la Maltroye Bourgogne Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

  Nose: Buttered popcorn at the movies, like heavily buttered.. what's crazy is that I thought only California did this. Whatever fruit there is, it's being overwhelmed by the buttered popcorn. There’s a gentle hint of burnt or smoky kernels too. Never imagined buttered popcorn to be a little fruity.
  
  Palate: The fruits show more on the palate with a sense of savoriness paired with some salinity. Spice and some old oak pepper the mid palate as well. A bit of minerals help maintain a bit of cut, which really helps.
  
  Different than a CA buttered chard, but not that much different. This is more preferable though, but not sure if I'm diggin' it. Better than the CA ones for sure though, good complexity. 90-91

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• 2022 Domaine Pernot-Bélicard Puligny-Montrachet Composition Parcellaire 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet

  Nose: Bright, clean, refreshingly crisp, white-fleshed pears. Neutral rubbery gum (like gum you’ve been chewed on for an hour, that has completely lost all aromas and flavor except for the gum itself.)
  
  Palate: Very similar to the nose minus the gum characteristic. Holds a touch of bitterness throughout, and dried grass on the mid palate that slides into the finish. Nice freshness and crispness, but this could also be because this was had right after that bucket of buttered popcorn though.
  
  The gum aroma got me a little worried in the first half, but thank goodness it didn't show up on the second half. Maybe it's something that others like, I can't knock it really. 91-92

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• 2022 Château de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

  Nose: Starting to recognize this style of aroma to be considered as reductive. A gentle movie popcorn note (less than the village but still there), deep yellow fruits but still somehow holds a streak of freshness and lift, which is really surprising.
  
  Palate: Very similar to the palate again but in a much more lifted, and somehow crisp with clean flavors. Still good fruit, it shines through a bit here, breaking through that reductive note.
  
  Starting to sense a pattern here.. 91-92

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• 2022 Domaine Pernot-Bélicard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Nose: Crushed stones and minerals that somehow give off some spice, gently lifted fruits, and a restrained butter note (quite subtle).
  
  Palate: Deep yellow fruits with a bit of reduction but it’s packaged with a needed cut of freshness. Although these two factions are fighting each other, it’s a beautiful battle to witness. There is a gentle spice throughout.
  
  Gets a bit more serious as we move up to 1er cru, with the introduction of some reduction here. 92-93

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• 2022 Château de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Château de la Maltroye 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Nose: It's becoming apparent that this is the style of this producer, with subtle and restrained reduction but with more floral aromatics really fans out the reduction, like somehow throwing a ball of paint hard on a blank canvas. Fruits is subtle too but it’s there, along with some airy grass notes.
  
  Palate: Deep on the fruits, a coating of subtle spice, bitter minerals and even a bit of metallic hints like a chain link fence. A streak of freshness throughout, providing a nice lift. The reductive note is there but much lighter, almost elegant in a sense.
  
  It's like the producer is starting to find his stride in fine-tuning and balancing that reductive note with clean acidity to keep things lifted. 92-93

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The take away from this tasting is that as we move up from the entry level, the profiles of the wines become more dialed in and balanced with more depth and complexity: Maltroye becoming a bit less heavy handed with the reductive notes as we move up in level with acidity and freshness, and Pernot-Bélicard introducing some reductive notes as we move up in level, bringing some seriousness to the fresh aspects.

Very interesting and fun tasting, good stuff from both producers! Hard to pick one over the other but I do lean more towards Pernot-Bélicard for his fresher style.