Description
We first tasted this from tank with Michael in October 2020, just before it was bottled. Michel then sent a finished bottle to London, and on re-tasting we confirmed our initial impressions – this is a wonderfully poised expression of Tessons, a site with great potential. Tessons lies to the west of Meursault, at approximately the same height as Les Perrières and the top of Genevrières. It is steeply sloped with poor, easily eroded soil and well exposed to the East. Perhaps just a little cool for 1er Cru status, it is nevertheless one of the top Lieu-Dit of the village. In Michel’s 2017 we find plenty of evidence for the quality, and relative coolness, of the site – it is racy, intense and almost painfully tight today, but opens with time in the glass to show fresh lemon and lime fruit, alongside the breadth of Meursault and the more savoury depth which comes with Caillot’s long lees ageing. Beautiful progression across the palate, building in weight and structure, before a long, focussed finish fills the mouth and senses with mouthwatering grapefruit and limes.
About the Domaine
Caillot’s wines age particularly well thanks to an unusually long ‘élevage’ at low temperatures, the first year in cask and the second in tank. His cellars are deep and cold, which prolongs fermentation, rarely finishing before the April after harvest, while the Malolactic might take another year to complete its work. Whole clusters and wild yeasts are the norm here; the wines are moved mainly by gravity and racked just once between fermentation and bottling with no filtration. The top 1er and Grand Crus see 50-70% new oak, the other wines 10-25%. The oak is carefully managed, it remains in the background supporting rather than masking the flavours of each vineyard. These are singular, expressive wines which show a different side to white Burgundy. They are full-flavoured, have ample texture, and good underlying acidity. The 2012’s and 2013’s are drinking well now but will continue to develop. We recently opened a bottle of his 1996 Santenay Blanc, a marvellous, textured, wine that was drinking well at 22 years old. The newly released 2014s which we are beginning to ship emphasise the vintages finesse and minerality, they are brilliantly racy and concentrated.
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