Salt, browned butter, and malt lend Ente’s 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Referts a dark savor that – like its rich peachiness of fruit – seems to reflect the literal warmth of this site. Citricity (in the guise of fresh grapefruit and lime) and stony, chalky minerality are present here too, as in Ente's other 2007s, but now with a scintillating, shimmering interaction of elements such as characterizes so many of the best wines of this vintage. This finishes with not only the vigor of an elegant mineral-fruit dynamic, but with a memorably bitter-sweet cling of liquid floral perfume, citrus oils, and smoke. This sort of resonant intensity in a wine of such modest alcohol is in itself noteworthy, not to mention the depths of complexity on exhibit here. I would expect it to be worth following for at least a decade. Arnaud Ente began picking September 2, but although he is nearly always a partisan of early harvest, this one was spread out over nearly two weeks to optimize the aggregation of clarity and sufficient ripeness. That said, high acidity – including a sizeable share of malic acid – remained a common denominator and higher than in 2004 because, in Ente's words, "there was no heat during the summer to burn it off." His malo-lactic fermentations, however, were finished already in mid-winter. Natural alcohol levels were low – predictably, given both the vintage and Ente's strategy and preferences – not exceeding 12.5%, and only the Aliogte was chaptalized. For Ente, vintages without hot summer weather are simply the more interesting and enjoyable, thanks in large part precisely to their higher acidity and lower alcohol. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524

Salt, browned butter, and malt lend Ente’s 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Referts a dark savor that – like its rich peachiness of fruit – seems to reflect the literal warmth of this site. Citricity (in the guise of fresh grapefruit and lime) and stony, chalky minerality are present here too, as in Ente's other 2007s, but now with a scintillating, shimmering interaction of elements such as characterizes so many of the best wines of this vintage. This finishes with not only the vigor of an elegant mineral-fruit dynamic, but with a memorably bitter-sweet cling of liquid floral perfume, citrus oils, and smoke. This sort of resonant intensity in a wine of such modest alcohol is in itself noteworthy, not to mention the depths of complexity on exhibit here. I would expect it to be worth following for at least a decade. Arnaud Ente began picking September 2, but although he is nearly always a partisan of early harvest, this one was spread out over nearly two weeks to optimize the aggregation of clarity and sufficient ripeness. That said, high acidity – including a sizeable share of malic acid – remained a common denominator and higher than in 2004 because, in Ente's words, "there was no heat during the summer to burn it off." His malo-lactic fermentations, however, were finished already in mid-winter. Natural alcohol levels were low – predictably, given both the vintage and Ente's strategy and preferences – not exceeding 12.5%, and only the Aliogte was chaptalized. For Ente, vintages without hot summer weather are simply the more interesting and enjoyable, thanks in large part precisely to their higher acidity and lower alcohol.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524