Tasted with Emilien Millot in Meursault, 27 September 2019

Domaine Bernard Millot
27 Rue de Mazeray
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 20 91
www.domaine-millot.com

Millot is a name with much history in Meursault, and for this domaine there have already been three generations, all living close to the Château de Meursault. Emilien’s grandmother was a Rougeot and he’s a distant relative to the Ballot-Millots who live nearby. The domaine covers 8 hectares, with vines mainly in and around Meursault, but there is also a little Beaune and Puligny-Montrachet too.

Having studied oenology at Davayé in the Mâconnais, Emilien worked for a time in the south of France, but also in Beaujolais and Alsace, he’s been full-time at the family domaine in Meursault since 2010. The domaine works organically but is not certified, as they still use one treatment to protect flowering which is not authorised. They are part of a group called écophyto who use lower dosages of sulfur and copper treatments than is the average.

About 70% of the domaine’s production is exported, But France remains the biggest market.

Emilien on 2018:
“2018, for me, is atypical. We did the same work as every year, but we made the limit in terms of what’s allowed for volume – with identical work we normally have 20-30% less. The reds have super phenolic maturity and we managed to keep a good acidity too: No corrections to the musts were needed in 2018. ”

The wines:

First the reds – the domaine produces about 30% red wine. Emilien says that they are all destemmed before a week of cool maceration. He tries not to extract too much, preferring to keep a fruit-forward nature and freshness.

2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Bottled in July. Grapes from Pellans and Grands Couture. 50% barrel elevage, but ‘old’ barrels.
Hmm, round, nicely fresh and enticing – very pretty. Round in the mouth too with energy and a nice fresh drive. Lip-smacking fresh yummy flavour.

2018 Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
10% barrel elevage again ‘older’ barrels – in this case up to 10 years old.
Fuller, more floral aroma. Fresh, more energy, more open, a touch more tannin, a little tarry length – delicious.

2018 Meursault Les Criots
A nose with a waft of vanilla oak. More drive and acidity in the mouth, lots of energy. Ooh, this is intense, indeed this is super. Less easy versus the previous two but no demerit for that.

2018 Beaune 1er Sizes
Not yet bottled – this will be done between December and January.
A redder and more floral nose. Hmm – a nice vibration of flavour here. There’s a touch of oak flavour but it’s in a very minor role. Good intensity and a nice line of flavour.

Les Blancs:

2018 Bourgogne Aligoté
Vines near the Fichet’s domaine supplies on the other side of the Route National in Meursault. The elevage was all stainless steel.
A modest nose, faintly floral. Nice entry, fresh and, layered, not too energetic. Tasty wine with a nicely vibrating finish where it’s slightly mineral.

2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay
2 parcels, Pellans and Grand Couture. 9 months of aging in oak with 10% new oak, the rest of the oak 8-10 years old.
A nice nose here, recognisably Meursault. There’s plenty of volume in the mouth, faintly saline accented flavour, round – this is certainly a junior Meursault in style; vibrant, a little mineral with faint oak bitters in the finish – excellent Bourgogne!

2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay les Magny
A parcel selection.
Wide, more floral, though I prefer the nose of the last. More compact but there’s a nice energy here, a finer complexity too. I see the extra complexity here, but have a little preference for the extra volume and energy of the previous wine. Though I think this a finer finish.

2018 Meursault
A blend of 4 different parcels, the cuvée amounting to 8,000 bottles from about 45k in total for the domaine.
Hmm, a nice blend of spice, mineral and floral – not a big nose but a very attractive one. Supple, more concentration, nice flavour a little texture in the finishing flavours. Give this 12 months, it will be excellent!

All the previous wines are sealed with DIAM, it’s cork for the following wines, none of which are yet bottled.

2018 Beaune Blanc Clos Les Longes
Above Champs Pimonts in the villages area. 7 year-old vines
Round, some aromatic oak showing. Hmm, here there’s more depth to the flavour, with a faintly spicy aspect, round, some mineral, some oak notes. A wine that I’d wait 2-3 years to let that oak note fade.

2018 Meursault Vireuils
More depth and a more mineral style to the nose. Ooh – this is concentrated but it’s also energetic; growing a wider panorama of flavour – plenty of fine mouth-watering flavour here. This is super – excellent wine!

2018 Puligny-Montrachet Les Corvées
More aromatically compact as there’s a suggestion of sulfur here. Nice volume in the mouth, where it’s quite freshly structural and a little mineral. Softer more citrus finishing…

2018 Meursault 1er Gouttes d’Or
Ooh – not full power, but the aroma is very pretty and shows engaging complexity. Vibrant, complex, a little mineral, driving with a fine intensity. Excellent wine, indeed excellent gouttes dor…