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Paul Pernot Featured at the Lieu-dit Cru Blind White Burgundy Dinner
L2O - Chicago IL
Tasted June 16, 2014 by Burgundy Al with 582 views
Introduction
The Chicago Lieu-dit Cru assembled for dinner at L2O for our (mostly) annual blind white Burgundy dinner. This time Gregg and I assembled a lineup focusing on Paul Pernot, mostly Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. Plus some Folatieres and a couple of ringers. Pernot has been one of my favorite white Burgundy producers for a decade and the wines mostly showed very well tonight, other than some disappointing 1996s. We only had a couple of bottles older than 1996, with both (1992 and 1993) truly wonderful. Overall this evening reinforced my very positive impression of Pernot as an excellent producer making classically styled Burgundy.
Flight 1 - Krug to Start (1 note)
White - Sparkling
1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut
92 points
Lots of bread, yeast and toast character with good power and concentration of ripe apple and pear. Moderate length, with good energy at the finish.
Flight 2 - 2000 Pernot Horizontal (3 notes)
White
2000 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet
93 points
Served blind to the group, single blind in the flight for me. Still very fresh and vibrant with good ripe fruit character start-to-finish. Great density and power. Tough to say if I preferred this or the Pernot 2000 Pucelles in the next glass.
White
2000 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
93 points
Served blind to the group at dinner, while single blind in the flight for me. Ever-so-slightly reductive to start. Nicely floral start with apple, peach flavors and aromas. Impressive balance with great persistence. While I slightly preferred the Pernot 2000 Batard-Montrachet in the next glass, some others preferred this excellent 1er. At a great place now.
White
2000 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
89 points
Served blind to the group, single blind for me in this flight. Mature aromas and flavors with lots of ripe apple and very good spice. Drink up.
Flight 3 - Pernot Bâtard-Montrachet Vertical (3 notes)
White
1992 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet
94 points
Single blind in Pernot Batard flight. In contrast to a (dead) bottle of Pernot 1992 BBM from a year ago, this Batard was stunningly good. Age appropriate maturity with great density, great sweet spice. Long and well textured. A WOTN contender for me.
White
2001 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet
90 points
Single blind in Batard flight. Fresh overall showing apple, pear, hints of lemon. Moderate concentration. Acid and mineral driven, particularly on finish.
White
1996 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet
87 points
Single blind in Pernot Batard flight. Very advanced, but certainly drinkable. Ok mature apple in middle, slightly less appealing aromatic start and finish on palate. Drink up.
Flight 4 - Pernot Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Vertical (3 notes)
White
1996 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
Single blind in Pernot BBM flight. Slightly old and off-kilter. Not a successful evening for Pernot 1996s.
White
2005 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
94 points
Tasted single blind in Pernot BBM flight. Slightly floral with spice hints behind explosive, concentrated peach an dapple with some tropical fruit hints. Big and dense, no signs of fatness. Great now, this should age gracefully. Also a WOTN contender that everybody enjoyed.
White
2001 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
90 points
Single blind in Pernot BBM vertical. Slightly more advanced than I'd hope for a 2001, but drinking nicely. Moderate concentration. Drink up.
Flight 5 - Top Producers' 1999 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet (3 notes)
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet is often my favorite of the Pernot wines and I thought it would be interesting to have this wine from three of my favorite producers working in the appellation.
White
1999 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
93 points
Single blind in BBM 1999 horizontal flight. Easily identifiable as Pernot (vs Ramonet and Carillon), this was the most lacy and elegant in the flight. Great, pure expression of fruit with clear Grand Cru density.
White
1999 Louis Carillon Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
Single blind in 1999 BBM horizontal. Lots of ripe stone and tropical fruit, but clearly very advanced and several years past its peak drinking window.
White
1999 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
94 points
Single blind in BBM 1999 horizontal flight, but to the group this was a "ringer" flight since it included two non-Pernot wines. Several people easily identified this as Ramonet from that telltale wintergreen note. Great fruit on nose and plate with subtle spice. Very well textured, very energetic and alluring through long finish. Also a WOTN contender for me.
Flight 6 - Pernot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles Vertical (4 notes)
White
2008 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
92 points
Single blind in a Pernot Pucelles vertical. Peach and apricot with very well balanced structural elements start-to-finish and good mineral-driven finish. Entering its peak drinking window now.
White
2002 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
Single blind in a Pernot Pucelles vertical. Drinking nicely, but certainly on the back nine.
White
2007 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
91 points
Single blind in Pernot Pucelles vertical. One notch below the 2008 also in the flight, but leaner, more tense and requiring more cellar time.
White
1999 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
92 points
Single blind in Pernot Pucelles vertical. Everybody was surprised when this was unveiled as the oldest in the flight. Great cross-section of ripe apple and stone fruit throughout. Power and good intensity. Impressive.
Flight 7 - Pernot Odds and Ends (3 notes)
White
2012 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos des Folatières
Tasted single blind in our end-of-evening flight that included Pernot "odds and ends." Gregg had opened this bottle 24 hours earlier but hadn't gotten to it, so brought the bottle tonight. It oddly tasted very little like the bottle from several months back. This seemed somewhat light and had a grassy, summer-esque character some thought more like Sauvignon Blanc! Clearly in need of cellar time, but I found good density, even if not much forthcoming tonight.
White
1993 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatières
90 points
One of tonight's most pleasant surprises. Good fruit remaining in balance with its mature evolution. I would have thought this younger than 20 yo. Good fruit, impressive power.
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Comment
White
2001 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles
88 points
Tasty, slightly on the lean slide. Good now.