First off, not all “Bourgogne”-level wines are created equal. Many top producers (Coche-Dury, Roulot, Roumier, and today’s, Domaine de Montille) make examples that blow away more highly classified wines due to site selection, farming, age of vines, and winemaking talent. That said, I often notice Burgundians referring to their Bourgogne Blanc/Rouge bottlings as “generic” wines.
They really need to come up with a better word, and not just for marketing purposes: Although many Bourgogne-labeled wines do indeed taste generic, there’s nothing generic about this Bourgogne Blanc from Domaine de Montille. As one sip makes abundantly clear, this tastes more like really good Puligny-Montrachet or Meursault, so please, put that other word out of your mind. Let’s go instead with “flagship Bourgogne” to describe this 2014, because, as we’ve said many times before, the best measure of a great producer is its “littlest” wine. In this regard, de Montille’s Bourgogne Blanc is a best-foot-forward from a legendary family estate. Sourced from just outside Puligny and representing one of Burgundy’s greatest white wine vintages in recent memory, its combination of pedigree and price is special. Not generic, special. Don’t miss it!
The Domaine de Montille, headquartered in the Côte de Beaune village of Volnay, was long under the command of the late Hubert de Montille, who took over his family’s estate in 1947 at just 17 years old. He was one of the old lions of Burgundy (immortalized in the documentary film “Mondovino”) and an advocate for “local” and “sustainable” long before those were buzzwords. Over the years, Hubert ceded more control to his son, Etienne, and daughter, Alix, and together they grew the de Montille vineyard holdings to about 20 hectares (75% of which are either Premier or Grand Cru) across a broad range of appellations. Those vineyards have been organically farmed since 1995 and were certified biodynamic in 2012.
Hubert passed away in 2014 (at lunch, while drinking a glass of his own Pommard), but Etienne and Alix ably stepped into the void—not only have they continued to run the family domaine at the highest level, they created a négociant business, called Deux Montille, which crafts a wide range of well-priced wines from choice terroirs. In 2012, Etienne took over the famed Château de Puligny Montrachet, where he had been winemaker since 2001, and more recently, Alix has reduced her role on the production side and started work as a sommelier in Meursault. Over the years, we’ve featured wines from all of the assorted de Montille projects, and it’s clear that Etienne learned well from his exacting father—the de Montille ‘domaine’ wines, starting with this Bourgogne Blanc and climbing up the ladder, continue to be models of focused, mineral, ageworthy Burgundy, whether white or red.
This 2014 Bourgogne Blanc was sourced from family vineyards in Corpeau, which sits just across the highway from Puligny-Montrachet and is considered a choice Bourgogne AOC site. Grapes for this wine were hand-harvested and pressed into a mix of 228- and 600-liter oak barrels for fermentation, and the finished wine spent one year aging in barrels (maximum 20% new) and a further six months in stainless steel tank before bottling.
In the glass, this 2014 bears a strong resemblance to top village Puligny-Montrachet, showing off levels of tension, precision, and depth that completely transcend its Bourgogne designation. In the glass, it’s a reflective straw-gold with hint of green at the rim, with aromas of yellow apple, quince, lime blossom, citrus pith, white mushroom, fresh cream, and crushed stones. The palate is medium to medium-plus in body and absolutely electric, lifted by fresh acidity and still tightly coiled—this is a wine that will benefit from some time in the cellar, about 3-5 years, to broaden and deepen further. If you’re enjoying a bottle tonight, decant it 45 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 50-55 degrees. This is a lot of wine for the price, plain and simple—a layered, deeply mineral white Burgundy that will age gracefully for the price of an “everyday” wine. I’d expect nothing less from Domaine de Montille, and I’m craving this white with a beautiful piece of fish cooked
en papillote (in parchment) to showcase its crystalline purity
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