Tasted in Meursault with Brian Seive, 14 November 2018.
Domaine de Montille
rue de But
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 39 14
www.demontille.com
I tasted in Meursault with wine-maker Brian Seive – we first took a short tour around the cuverie – both the domaine and maison wines are made here. The domaine is about 22 hectares of vines, the grapes all ending up in wooden open-top fermenters with no temperature control. Annually about 400-500 barrels of wine are produced – in 2017 it is 500, but the last few years of frost and hail have seen nearer 300 barrels produced.
About half the whites are now made in large format barrels.
Brian on 2017:
“Sheer perfection! The people with balanced wines typically had less frost in 2016. Those with a lot of frost tended to have vines that made a lot of compensation in terms of yield. We had about 1/3 more fruit in 2017 than in 2016, but of-course low volumes in 2016 and a lot of the extra was declassified. When you consider how warm the year was we are very lucky to have a strawberry-raspberry profile of fruit. Fewer nights below 10°C so vine growth was quite fast. Most malos went through in July and August. I see concentrations that are like 2011 +/-”
The wines…
Simply a great set of wines – the core – the Pezerolles, Rugiens, Taillepieds and Malconsorts are really a cut-above. The whites are generally very strong, but I had to wait to really have my head turned…
2017 Beaune 1er Grèves
At least half the volume was lost in 2016. 1/3 wc.
Modest colour. Aromatic, not too deeply concentrated – very attractive. Nice volume in the mouth – airy but not lacking complexity. Plenty of flavour from an elegant wine. Oaky length but very long.
2017 Volnay 1er Carelles
85 yo vines, to the east of Volnay’s cemetery. 25% new oak – a little less than the Grèves.
Hmm, a precise and very attractive floral style of nose. Rounder, fuller, more direct concentration, some oak flavour but lovely.
2017 Volnay 1er Mitans
0.72 hectares. All wc – it depends on the growing season. These vines typically only have 2 clusters per vine – in 2017 we had 4!
Very aromatic whole-cluster nose but no herby aspects – just very sweetly floral. Fuller more overt freshness a mix of wc and faint caramel – certainly some oak and a little salinity – it’s a super finishing complexity – overtly much more than the previous wines – super finishing length too.
2017 Volnay 1er Champans
50% wc.
A much bigger nose – lots of volume – less delicacy. Lots of energy, long, good depth – lovely depth. Not in the same stage of readiness. Lovely finish. Last drops in the glass have a fine purity of darker fruit though.
1.51 hectares. ‘Flagship of the house and the oldest vines with 65 years, like all vintages 100% whole cluster, some gravel over the limestone here.’
A width of aroma, lots of wc elements, almost an almond style – that’s pretty characteristic in 2017 Taillepieds. Super shape in the mouth, plenty of concentration, depth of flavour a touch of tannin. Really top-notch! Bravo – super persistence!
On the north side of Pommard above Grands Epenots. Lots of limestone, less iron and clay than many climats here. Some younger vines here bringing the average down to 35 years-old, one third wc.
Hmm, this has a beautiful floral accent – fine depth of fruit – really attractive. Big in the mouth but fresh and transparent – ooh that’s great. Plenty of oak in the finish but keep patient! Bravo!
2017 Pommard 1er Grands Epenots
One-third wc, average vine age similar to the last.
Another bright almost sparkly purity and energy to the aromatic. More energy, more open, less direct density but beautifully floral and complex. Really engaging, indeed captivating.
1.02 hectares. 2/3 wc. Much more iron in the soil. A little older vines than Pezerolles, nearly 50 years-old. Chunks of limestone here and a little chlorosis in the vines. Possibly called Cuvée Hubert in the future – it was only bottled in magnums with that name in 2015.
Ooh – beautiful nose – complex, encompassing – brilliant. A long wine, lithe, faintly astringent, beautiful focus/clarity. Much more to wait for but brilliant. Bravo
2017 Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey
De Montille got 5 ha in the Côte de Nuits from Thomas-Moillard, including this Aux Thorey – 0.73 hectare of vines. 100% limestone in this part of the vineyard.
A wide, quite large-scaled nose, not yet with the delicacy of previous wines. Energy, more structural, quite intense. Super persistence. Much less ready though.
2016 Corton Clos du Roi
0.84 hectares of vines. Older vines – about 70. 2/3 wc
A very smooth line of aroma – not so wide. Quite good volume in the mouth, growing in intensity. Wide and complex – not yet showing any delicacy but there’s good depth and persistence.
2017 Clos de Vougeot
One third wc. More clay and moisture retentive soils over the limestone. About 65 yo vines, some parts with more younger replacements. ‘I used to make 100% wc but it was rustic and tannic taking a lot of time to lose its angularity, hence a little less now.’
Lots of aromatic depth, a hint of reduction probably to blame. Lots of volume and fresh energy, a hint of reduction. Like many of the CdNuits wines – behind in their elevage.
All wc
Ooh there’s a complexity here, faintly herby freshness. Hmm, depth, bright flavour, shimmering with fresh, complex flavour – a little halo of relatively inconsequential tannin. Open, elegant and beautifully complex – the most accessible fo the CdNuits so far. The tannin actually outlasts the flavour today. But that’s irrelevant if you wait at least 5 years. Bravo.
2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Malconsorts Cuvée Christianne
What this parcel doesn’t have, is the upper part of Malconsorts that is all on limestone – there’s more clay and silt here. 2016 was the first year where the vinification of these Malconsorts was not identical, the first wine extracted a little less to manage the chalk a little better. Also all wc and almost the same oak, picked on the same day.
Much more overt wc on the nose. More spherical, depth of tannin but less clarity less delicacy but more weight. It would be great to compare these two in 3-5 years but today I’ve an easy preference for the 1st wine.
Les Blancs:
Whites came up into tank in August. Whites are primarily sealed with DIAM – “You would give 8 out of 10 for every DIAM sealed bottle when tasting – if sealed with cork you might give 2 or 10.” Start with two maison wines:
2017 Montagny Les Quer
Hmm – a nice fresh width of sherbet style aroma. In the mouth too, the small amount of CO2 accentuating the sherbet connection. Open, nice energy, with a fine line of tasty flavour.
20017 St.Romain
Two lieu dits mixed.
More minerality then a slowly growing floral – despite filtering and sulfuring the day before, this is in great shape. Volume, energy, great combination of shape and flavour with a little sucrosity. Excellent and deliciously finishing too – almost a little mandarin orange in there!
2017 Domaine Beaune 1er Aigrots
Good width more density of aroma too – but less open complexity. Bigger but more CO2. Depth to this concentration, freshness, long a little mineral. Slightly floral finishing. Lovely flavour profile.
2017 Domaine Meursault St.Christophe
3 different: Narvaux, Castets and Petit Charron. This neither filtered or sulfured like the previous two.
Deep a little aromatic reduction. Lots of fresh volume here, a saline halo, then a long mouth-watering and delicious flavour. Very Meursault and very tasty.
2017 Domaine Meursault 1er Poruzots
Also on lees – it will stay like to March/April. 25% new oak.
Also in a reductive shape. Lots of energy. Depth and then a growing width of flavour. Lovely.
2017 Domaine Meursault 1er Perrières
Reductive but more vibrant and basically more mineral. Energetic, complex – not a big wine but oh-so complex and interesting – lacking a bit of finishing intensity today.
2017 Domaine Puligny-Montrachet 1er Caillerets
A little biscuit reduction here. Wide, a vibration of flavour. Bright, beautifully pure and intense. Very fine indeed.
Bright, fresh, mineral, open, not reductive. Hmm. Depth of flavour, more overtly concentrated than the last couple. Hmm, that tastes great maybe a bit of barrel caramel in the finish.
2017 Domaine Corton-Charlemagne
Hmm, a faintly biscuit reduction. Tighter aromatics. Hmm. Lots of energy and interest here. A touch of aniseed. Long and beautifully put together. Extra in the finish – ooh that’s great here.
2016 Domaine Meursault St.Christophe
A nice width, ripe and intense. Great mineral line, faintly spiced. Excellent.