B-21 Top Recommendation Read More
While top rated, value priced Burgundy may sound like wishful thinking, these impeccable 2020 selections from Domaine de Montille are a Burgundy lover’s wish come true, an impressive range of fresh, elegant and long-lived red and white Burgundies from an estate called “one of the region’s great names” by the Wine Spectator, offered at specially negotiated pricing well below many of its higher profile peers and all promising collectors of the world's most prestigious and sought after wines exceptional enjoyment for years to come.
Pioneering the concept of crafting vineyard-specific wines in the region when he took over the family business in 1947, Hubert de Montille was among the first to estate bottle his wines in Burgundy, his legacy of innovation continuing under the direction of his son Etienne over the last 30 years. Implementing improvements in the estate’s vineyards including lowering yields and employing organic and biodynamic viticulture, Etienne continued his father’s strategic expansion of the estate’s holdings to include some of Burgundy’s most highly regarded 1er and Grand Cru terroirs, culminating in the purchase of Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet in 2012. Sourced from a total of 35 hectares of prime holdings spanning 20 separate appellations with a staggering 75% in 1er Cru and Grand Cru vineyards, each of these selections is crafted to reflect its exceptional terroir. The 93 pt. 2020 Saint Aubin 1er Cru “En Remilly” comes from a parcel located just behind Grand Cru Le Montrachet while the vineyard for the 94 pt. 2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er "Le Cailleret" is situated north and at the same altitude as Montrachet and just below Chevalier-Montrachet. The parcel for the 92 pt. "Les Folatieres" 1er Cru de Puligny-Montrachet is between two prestigious neighbors, Leflaive and Leroy while the superb 97 pt. Chevalier-Montrachet comes from a tiny .23 hectare plot at the highest point of the Grand Cru hillside. Heading north to the Cote de Nuits, Montille’s top Pinot Noir parcels in Vosne-Romanee include the 96 pt. 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts which sits at the southern border of the Grand Cru “La Tache,” the famed monopole of DRC, and the 97 pt. Aux Malconsorts “Christiane" 1er Cru is nestled against the north and west borders of La Tache. Employing a restrained use of new oak in the cellar, head winemaker Brian Sieve crafts the Montille Burgundies in an elegantly balanced, classical style, preserving each cuvee’s freshness and acidity while producing wines that articulate the qualities of each unique parcel, all boasting an exceptional ability to age.
From an outstanding vintage “imbued with remarkable freshness” according to Neal Martin of Vinous producing intense reds and mineral-driven whites, these 2020 Domaine de Montille wines deliver some of the region’s best values at all price levels, promising Burgundy lovers and collectors who make room in the cellar some seriously enjoyable drinking over the next decade or more. |