2024 Bachelet-Monnot Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts, Burgundy

The 2024 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru has a very gifted, crushed stone/petrichor-tinged nose that has much more animation and energy than the previous vintage. The palate is taut and fresh, vibrant, stony and penetrating. So much energy is tied up in this Puligny but there is real persistence and power on the exquisitely defined finish. This is just an outstanding Les Referts among the best you will find in this vintage.

93-95 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

Mid lemon yellow. Altogether more robust on the nose after the finesse of the village Puligny, with the full fruit on the cusp of white and yellow kept in check by a light reduction. A late malolactic here does not seem to have done any harm. The white fruit fleshes out at the back of the palate with a tingling citrus note into the bargain. Drink from 2030-2034.

91-94 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy

Brothers Marc and Alexandre Bachelet have made their small domaine in Dezize-lès-Maranges one of the most coveted addresses in the Côte de Beaune. Their whites are prized for combining intensity with restraint, allowing each vineyard to retain its own personality. Les Referts is a superb Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru on the Meursault side of the appellation, just below Les Combettes. Its position gives the wine a little more breadth and generosity than some Puligny sites, while retaining the limestone tension that keeps everything beautifully composed.

The 2024 vintage was tiny and hard fought, with cool, wet conditions demanding meticulous vineyard work. The best whites show freshness, aromatic clarity and impressive concentration from very small yields. Les Referts’ clay-limestone soils naturally bring texture and depth, while the Bachelets’ measured élevage adds complexity without disguising the vineyard. It’s Puligny with a little extra flesh on its bones.

Pale gold with a green glint, the nose opens with white peach, Meyer lemon and ripe pear before acacia, grapefruit oil and fresh almond appear. With air come crushed limestone, hazelnut, flint and a subtle touch of brioche. The palate has lovely breadth, with stone fruit and citrus wrapped around a silky, finely textured core. Bright acidity and chalky minerality provide the counterpoint, carrying lemon oil, salted almond and gentle spice into a long, savoury finish.

Give this lobster with ginger and spring onion, scallop sashimi with yuzu, grilled king prawns with saffron butter, roast chicken with morels or tempura Moreton Bay bugs. Our pick is the bugs sweet shellfish, feather-light batter and a squeeze of lemon against the wine’s citrus, hazelnut and mineral line should be absolutely glorious.

Cellaring: Drink from 2029 to 2045.