Pethel’s 2007 Puligny-Montrachet Sous Les Puits – from a bit lower down the same slope as his village-level Puligny – shares with its little sibling a bright citricity and luscious, peachy fruit. Here a creamy texture backed by palpable suggestions of underlying density is allied to an animated interchange of fruit and mineral elements, including overt stoniness. Here too, darker nutty tones come to the fore with air, and lend piquancy to the finish. While there is long-term Dublere track record, I suspect this will be worth following for 7-10 years and will in time probably demonstrate its superiority to the village wine. North Carolinian Blair Pethel – whose adventures in Burgundy I briefly summarized in issue 180 – did not start harvesting whites until well into the second week of September (granted, he has modest acreage) and finished by picking his Corton Charlemagne on September 17, though it seemed to surprise him to hear me call that “l(fā)ate.” All of his whites were bottled in March, 2009. Among the illustrations of Pethel’s quality-consciousness – besides what's obvious in the glass! – is his selection of two different tonneliers each year to supply his barrels (around one third new annually), as he gradually narrows the field and decides with whom to work on a regular basis in future. “I haven’t repeated yet,” he says, revealing his determined spirit of controlled experimentation, “but after this year 2009, I’m going to make a choice.” For a note on Pethel’s extraordinary 2007 Chablis Preuses, readers are urged to consult my report on Chablis elsewhere in this issue. A Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011- 333-80-24-29-70; also imported by Pas Mal Selections, New York, NY; tel. (201) 567 2028 and Schneider’s of Capital Hill, Washington, DC tel. (202) 543 9300

Pethel’s 2006 Puligny-Montrachet Sous Les Puits displays high-toned herbal pungency akin to peppermint; a rich but palpably chalky palate; and an almost explosively bright, citric finish with tactile pungency that matches its aromatic intensity. Wines from this site always call forth a mineral vocabulary, but I have seldom tasted on this extroverted or energetic. While there is no Dublere track record, I suspect his has the makings of ten year wine. After many years spent visiting Burgundy, North Carolina-born Blair Pethel became convinced of his calling as a vintner while working the harvest there in 1999 on a sabbatical from his career as a political journalist in Washington, DC. Five years later, he purchased his first vineyards and began Domaine Dublere. If his story sounds impossibly starry-eyed, a taste of what is in Pethel’s barrels will correct that impression. Working with small but prestigious holdings and selected suppliers of fruit from old vines, he is already achieving wines of startling finesse and clarity of flavor, in both white and red. Pethel harvested a week before the official ban de vendange and even then, he remarks, “I had to sort like a maniac. We had sixteen people on two sorting trays in 2006,” thanks to having friends who are self-proclaimed wine freaks inspired or crazy enough to volunteer. “My business plan is based on grand- and premier cru,” says Pethel without any tone of arrogance “so I have to build slowly.” Importer: Schneider’s of Capital Hill, Washington, DC tel. (202) 543 9300