Alain Chavy Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières

Chardonnay & Chardonnay-based blends

Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru bottle image

Chardonnay & Chardonnay-based blends

Alain Chavy produces restrained, structured, and long-lived white Burgundies from 17 acres of vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet, with small holdings in the neighboring villages of Chassagne and Meursault. Alain established Domaine Alain Chavy in 2003 with vineyards inherited from his father and includes some of Puligny's top premier crus.

All Products →

Wine Production

Alain inoculates for fermentation and believes in keeping bâtonnage to a minimum. He uses a combination of 400-liter oak puncheons and 25% new Burgundian pièce for the premier crus. “We’re looking for balance between the fruit and oak character,” explains Alain. “We want the wines’ minerality to show through.”

Tasting Notes

Wines from Puligny-Montrachet are typified by aromas and flavors of green apple and lemon and tend to be tauter and firmer on the palate compared to wines from neighboring villages. Aging in a small percentage of new French oak barrels lends accents of toast and vanilla. Structured white wines with high acid and grip, Puligny-Montrachet is destined for long aging.

Food Pairing

White Burgundy, with its rich texture and toasted flavors, pairs well with white fish and shellfish and its naturally high acidity can counterbalance cream-based sauces. Oak-aged Chardonnay from warmer climates lends itself well to grilled fish, starches, butter, and toasted nuts.

All Products →

Wine Production

Tasting Notes

Food Pairing

Brand Materials

Tech Sheet Bottle Shot Acclaim

POINTS

“Alain Chavy’s holdings on the high slope of Folatières seem to dovetail with his winemaking style: He inoculates his fermentations, and limits lees stirring; the wines age in the cold of a deep cellar, in a mix of 400-liter puncheons and 228-liter barrels. This is a 2016 with wholesome fruit, a silken range of pear, apple and apricot lasting past a complex wave of mineral salts that washes over the finish. It’s savory and layered, a wine with staying power and grace.”

POINTS

“The 2016 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières has a more conspicuous marine bent to the aromatics compared to the other Puligny premier crus, with oyster shells and mudflat scents filtering through the green apple aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fresh and vibrant entry. Now this is a very pretty Puligny in the making, very harmonious with traces of blackcurrant leaf and spice, fanning out as if the 2016 vintage was not beset by trials and tribulations. There is just a disarming flow about this Folatières and it should drink well for the next decade.”

“Cask sample. Again a light note of struck match as well as an attractive stony minerality. Tight and refined, very long and with excellent precision. Well done.”(17 points out of 20)

Jancis Robinson

“Alain Chavy wasn’t the only grower in Puligny with a smile on his face at the London Burgundy Week tastings, given that much of the village (the Grands Crus apart) escaped the frost in 2016. This wine is typical of his style, with a long period on lees producing classic struck match notes. Complex and stylishly oaked.”

Winemaking & Aging

Varietal composition:

100% Chardonnay

About the Vineyard

Les Folatières is the largest Puligny premier cru and one of the best known thanks to its size and the quality of its wines. Folatières sits high up on the hill above Clavoillons with meager soil. The result is a full-bodied wine with plenty of minerality and grip. This is Alain’s favorite Puligny-Montrachet premier cru.

See Brand →