JEAN-MARC BOILLOT Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Champ-Canet' - Cote de Beaune 2023 Bottle

Description

IN BRIEF
Jean-Marc Boillot Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Canet 2023 is a poised, finely detailed Puligny marrying ripe white fruit with crystalline minerality. Pale gold with a luminous core, it offers white peach, ripe pear and lemon zest with acacia and honeysuckle; airing brings toasted almond, brioche and a chalky crushed stone seam. Medium plus with a silky expansive mid palate, lithe acidity keeps the wine energetic while lemon curd, green apple and subtle spice unfold. Gentle phenolics and fine texture lead to a long finish of citrus pith, toasted nut and mineral smoke. Approachable now with gentle aeration but will reward short term cellaring. Drink 2026 to 2036. Critics: Jasper Morris 93; Vinous 90.

ABOUT THIS WINE
Jean-Marc Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet 2023 is a poised and finely detailed expression of a warm vintage site, combining ripe white fruit generosity with the crystalline minerality and precision that define Puligny. The colour is pale gold with a luminous core. The nose opens with white peach, ripe pear and lemon zest, followed by floral notes of acacia and honeysuckle; gentle stone fruit richness is complemented by a chalky, crushed stone mineral thread and a subtle nuttiness from brief élevage.

On the palate the wine is medium plus in weight with a silky, expansive mid palate and lithe acidity that keeps the profile energetic rather than heavy. Primary flavours of white peach and pear are joined by lemon curd and a fine seam of green apple; mid palate development brings toasted almond, a hint of brioche and a light spice note that adds complexity without masking varietal clarity. The Champ Canet site contributes a distinct stony minerality and an almost saline lift that accentuates the finish and gives the wine a compelling sense of place.

Tannic grip is minimal and the texture is driven by fine phenolics and precise acidity, producing a long, focused finish that closes on citrus pith, toasted nut and a whisper of mineral smoke. The 2023 vintage delivered generous ripeness tempered by retained acidity, and Boillot’s restrained winemaking preserves freshness while allowing textural richness to shine.

Approachable now with gentle aeration, this Puligny Champ Canet will also reward careful cellaring to allow tertiary complexity to emerge and the oak to integrate fully. Drink 2026 to 2036, peaking 2028 to 2032. Serve well chilled with lobster, scallops, sole meunière, roasted chicken with herbs or a creamy mushroom risotto to complement the wine’s balance of ripeness, saline minerality and elegant texture.

JASPER MORRIS 93 points
Lemon and lime colour. The fruit comes across a little riper, with some plum skins. Notably generous on the palate but still with excellent acidity, an intriguing little touch of liquorice further back, quite complex. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.

VINOUS 90 points
Drinking window: 2025 - 2036
The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Champs Canet 1er Cru has a light flinty nose with subtle dewy meadow scents. It would benefit from a little more vigour. The palate is fresh on the entry, taut, fresh and lightly spiced, with fine acidity and a precise, sapid finish. This can be drunk from bottling and over the next decade.
Neal Martin. Tasting date: January 2025

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ABOUT JEAN-MARC BOILLOT
Jean Marc Boillot is a highly respected vigneron of the Cote de Beaune whose wines marry Burgundian heritage with meticulous, hands on craft. A grandson of Etienne Sauzet, Boillot trained with Olivier Leflaive before establishing his own domaine in 1985. Over the decades he has built a coherent holding now totalling around 10.5 hectares in the Cote de Beaune, including parcels in Pommard, Volnay and plots formerly belonging to Domaine Sauzet in Puligny. The domaine also operates a negociant wing supplying additional white Burgundies, notably from the Cote Chalonnaise, which complements the estate bottlings and affords broader stylistic insight.

Management and winemaking remain a family affair. Jean Marc is assisted by his daughter Lydie and son Benjamin who are actively involved in vineyard care, cellar operations and commercial duties. This continuity of family stewardship supports a consistent house style and allows careful long term planning for replanting, clonal choice and parcel development.

Vineyard practice emphasises low yields, precise canopy management and attentive hand harvesting to ensure physiological ripeness and site clarity. Older vines contribute concentration and complexity while younger plantings provide freshness and delineation between plots. Soil and vine health are priorities and the team pursues measured interventions to maintain balance and to express terroir differences across appellations.

Winemaking reflects a disciplined, site driven philosophy. The white wines except the grand cru are whole bunch pressed, settled briefly then transferred direct to barrel, with approximately 25 to 30 percent new oak used depending on cuvee and vintage. Regular lees stirring is carried out once a week during elevage to build texture and mouthfeel while preserving primary fruit and minerality. Whites are bottled before the next harvest to retain vivacity.

Red vinification is entirely destemmed and begins with a cool pre ferment maceration. Fermentation then proceeds with a blend of gentle punching down and pumping over, adjusted to suit vintage conditions and vineyard character. After fermentation the wines mature for about thirteen months in barrel with roughly 50 percent new oak, followed by further maturation in tank for around six months prior to bottling. This regimen yields reds that combine ripe rounded fruit, clear structural definition and fine grain tannin suited to medium term ageing.

Jean Marc Boillot is known for letting his wines speak for him. His whites are concentrated, classically taut and terroir expressive while his reds offer purity of fruit, generous texture and balanced power. Collectors and critics alike praise the domaine for its consistency, integrity and capacity to reveal site through both immediate charm and graceful development with age.