Alain Chavy Puligny Montrachet Folatieres 2022

Alain Chavy is a bit of a legend in Puligny, not just for his incredible holdings, but for having the literal deepest cellar in the village (a feat of engineering given Puligny’s high water table). That cool, deep cavern is where the magic happens, allowing for a long, slow fermentation that preserves every ounce of crystalline detail in his wines.

The 2022 Les Folatières is exactly why we hunt for these bottles. This isn’t a wine that tries to bowl you over with flashy oak or buttery excess. Instead, it’s all about that classic Puligny tension.

Alain uses just a touch of new oak (around 25%), which acts like a frame for a painting—it supports the fruit without ever getting in the way. It’s a racy, intellectual white Burgundy that manages to be both powerful and weightless at the same time.

This is a wine for the “Reasonable Cellar.” While the big-name trophy hunters are fighting over four-figure bottles, savvy drinkers are tucking away Chavy’s Folatières. It’s drinking beautifully now with a decant, but if you can forget about it for 5 to 10 years, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with even more of those savory, honeyed secondary notes.