Alvina Pernot – grand-daughter of Puligny-Montrachet-based producer Paul Pernot – established her own label in 2018, with her husband Philippe Abadie.
About the Producer
They currently use the facilities at Domaine Paul Pernot to produce the wines, but are in the process of building their own winery in Puligny-Montrachet.
Alvina largely purchases grapes from the Domaine Paul Pernot vineyards but also has acquired access to a separate plot that borders their back garden in Puligny, in the esteemed Noyers Bret.
Alvina currently produces seven cuvées. All are white wines apart from her cuvée from the Bievaux vineyard in the village of Santenay.
In the Vineyard
In terms of viticulture, Alvina and Philippe manage two plots themselves, a plot of Puligny-Montrachet La Rue aux Vaches (from 2018) and a plot of Puligny-Montrachet Noyers Brets (from 2020). Apart from these two plots, the grapes are sourced from the Pernot family vineyards.
The cuvées include Meursault Premier Cru La Piece sous le Bois, which is the youngest parcel of the Paul Pernot estate planted in 2004, producing a fruity wine closer to Puligny than Meursault in terms of style. A plot in the Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Garenne planted in 1956 produces a distinctly rich Puligny wine, while Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Chalumaux is another very old plot planted in 1954 by Alvina’s grandfather, its limestone bedrock with very shallow topsoil producing a Puligny-Montrachet with strong minerality. The estate’s most elegant Puligny – Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Folatières – comes from a plot planted in the 1960s and 1970s.
Her one red – Santenay Bievaux – comes from a plot in the eponymous vineyard which sits at the highest altitude in the appellation, with great southern exposure.
In the Winery
Despite Alvina and Domaine Paul Pernot sharing many of the same vineyards, there are notable differences in the winery. When Alvina started she was adamant she didn’t want to make a carbon copy of the domaine wines, but rather try to produce a wine in her own image: reflecting her own vision of wine, her own vision of Puligny-Montrachet.
With the smaller production levels, she believes an extra attention to detail becomes possible. She typically picks three to four days earlier than the domaine, opting for a fresher more linear style of wine. She hand-harvests all the fruit into small crates, as opposed to the traditional large containers, better protecting the grapes against oxidation. During the all-important pressing stage, Alvina when possible prefers to use the more traditional vertical press, rather than the more widely used modern horizontal pneumatic presses, though she currently uses both. According to Alvina, the traditional vertical presses have a distinct qualitative advantage despite losing 15 to 20% more juice than modern presses: “It reduces oxidation, provides a greater purity of juice with naturally higher acidity and therefore freshness.”
Pernot teamed up with Vinfolio to carry out the élevage on the Meursault Premier Cru Genevrières Cuvée Baudot barrel we purchased in 2022 at the annual Hospices de Beaune charity auction. Pernot’s penchant for vertical, vibrant Burgundy suits the vintage perfectly. It is now available for purchase.
