Domaine Francois Carillon - Puligny-Montrachet - Les Combettes - 1er Cru

The 2012 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes was planted in 1992 by Francois Carillon himself and constitutes 0.46-hectares. It has a fuller, richer nose than Champs Gain with hints of toffee apple and lemon curd suggesting that the modest new oak needs to be a little more assimilated by the time of bottling. The palate is nicely balanced, smooth and generous, almost creamy in the mouth but it just needs to develop a little more animation and poise on the finish. Straight after visiting his brother Jacques, I crossed the road to visit Domaine Francois Carillon. Francois began working with his father Louis at the domaine in 1988. While Jacques only sources fruit from his own vines, Francois’s modus operandi is slightly different since, as well as his own share of inherited vines, he vinifies fruit from contracted growers. He adopts a prudent approach to oak, adamantly stating that he never uses more than 25% and he did not purchase any new wood in 2012. His was a decent set of 2012s, although in this vintage they did not quite achieve the rarefied heights of his brother’s portfolio that generally demonstrated more precision and mineralite.