The 2016 Puligny-Montrachet Village has a fresh, quite effervescent bouquet with a touch of blood orange coming through with aeration. The palate is well balanced with good density, slightly honeyed in texture and perhaps just needing more tension toward the finish. I just want to see more Puligny in this Puligny.

The 2014 Puligny-Montrachet Villages has a lively, feisty bouquet with effervescent orange peel and citrus scents. The palate has good weight in the mouth, but perhaps just lacks a little nervosité towards the finish. This is just a bit workmanlike in the context of its fellow whites from Leroux.

The 2013 Puligny-Montrachet Village, from three lieux-dits, has a lifted stony bouquet, austere at first, but then growing in intensity with bruised apple and smoky scents. The palate is crisp and taut on the entry, citric acidity with hints of brioche and white chocolate lending some nascent exoticism on the finish. Fine.

The 2012 Puligny-Montrachet Village comes from several parcels around the appellation including Clos de Chateau in the heart of the village. It has a precise, stony bouquet with lifted scents of apple blossom emerging with aeration that should intensify after bottling. The palate is energetic and tense – a real frisson in the mouth that leads to a vibrant, peach tinged finish that is absolutely gorgeous, even at this premature stage. This is just outstanding. There is one vigneron pleased about the late running of the 2013 harvest more than any other – Benjamin Leroux. “I had my third baby two weeks ago,” he reveals, though he looks in unnaturally fine fettle given the sleepless nights he must surely be enduring. I met Benjamin at his winery located just off the Beaune ring road opposite Albert Bichot and Domaine des Croix. Here he vinifies all his negociant wines that are labeled under his name, and when he is not there, you will probably find him down in Domaine Comte Armand, where he has been responsible for recent vintages. He shares the facility with Nicolas Rossignol, whose wines I tasted directly afterwards. Those wishing to glean more information on Leroux’s background should peruse the article I wrote in the August issue of The Wine Advocate concerning Clos des Epeneaux. He told me that he will bottle his 2012s relatively early this year and, in fact, several were already under cork. Like practically everyone, his crops are depleted in 2012 depending upon the area, up to 80% in the worst affected by frost and hail. The samples that I tasted were either in bottle (wines with single figure scores) or in barrel just after malo-lactic but before racking (given by banded scores). Generally, these constituted an outstanding set of wines, albeit often in miniscule quantities, which is why some of the cuvees are exclusive to certain markets (for example, you will have to go to Hong Kong to find his elusive Clos Saint Denis.) While the grand crus could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with many growers, readers should check out some of his over-performing Village and Premier Crus, particularly the former that were bolstered by the blending of the latter due to depletion of crop. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)

The 2010 Puligny-Montrachet is layered, soft and impeccably pure. Exotic yellow fruits, flower and spices are all woven together in this soft, inviting village-level Puligny. The wine’s minerality comes through on the finish, providing an attractive foil to the suppleness of the fruit. This is an immediate, expressive Puligny to drink now and over the next few years. While attractive, this lacks the thrill of the best wines in the cellar. Hail a week before harvest explains much of that. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Benjamin Leroux is probably best known to readers for his superb work at Comte Armand, but the wines Leroux crafts under his own micro-negociant label are equally worthy of attention. Readers may also want to check out my video interview with Leroux on our website for more on his views on current vintages. In addition to the wines listed here, I also tasted just about all the 2011 whites. Those wines are shaping up beautifully and in some cases will rival or perhaps even surpass the 2010s for their balance. If the 2010s have a weakness here, it is that they are at times a bit on the heavy side. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Fine Vines, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, Cavatappi, Washington; tel. (206) 282-5226, Veritas Imports, CA; tel. (310) 205-3800, Verity Wine Partners, New York, NY; tel. (212) 683-8763