Tasted in Meursault with Brian Seive and Etienne de Montille, 19 November 2019.
Domaine de Montille
rue de But
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 39 14
www.demontille.com
Brian on 2018:
“We had less red grapes in 2018 versus 2017 – of-course it was the other way around in the whites. The last time it was like this was in 1982 – but the viticulture is very different to this time. In terms of the work in the vines, nothing was different in the vintage, it was simply the case that nature delivered this without prompting. In 1982 the growers were always looking for more grapes. In fact, we didn’t really have more grapes but we certainly had more juice. It wasn’t peaking as hot as it did in 2019, but we had fewer of the cool nights that we usually have or indeed had in 2019. Still, 12.5-13.3° here in 2018.”
The wines…
A super tasting; great whites and almost as good reds in 2018. Bravo!
DIAM for all the whites here, started with a first cuvée in 2005, their Chateau de Puligny Rosé. As usual, we start with the ‘Maison’ wines:
208 Maison Bourgogne Chardonnay
From Montagny villages, 10 months barrel and then 5 months in stainless before bottling.
Ooh, that’s a lovey vibrant, fresh nose. Full, sleek, some base of minerality, a touch of rigour in the middle, not the highest acidity but nice, mouth-watering, good wine.
2018 Montagny Les Quer
10 months in barrel, maybe a little longer than the previous in ss before bottle.
Hmm – wide, more elegant, high-toned nose, practically perfumed. Fuller, rounder, a little oak here today. But mouth-watering and with fine precision, indeed finishing tension.
Hmm – again a little perfumed, rounder but no oak. A little gas. Long and tasty. Ooh, that’s a super Pouilly – beautifully crafted. Bravo!
‘Rully is becoming harder and harder to buy.’
Hmm, this smells like Meursault, a little wide and spiced. Driving, fresh, melting flavour some mineral component – love the freshness, slightly padded. Fuller finishing but nothing heavy. Lovely, indeed bravo for the label.
2018 St.Romain
80% En Jarrons
Bright, fresher, pretty citrus and floral. Gas. Wide and again fine citrus – almost a lime strictness – almost a hint of phenolic texture. Super.
2018 Chablis Les Preuses
Pressed off in Chablis and brought down to Meursault in tank.
A more compact but floral nose. Concentrated, good depth to the slowly mouth-watering flavour. A wine with drive but only modest energy. Yet the finish is broad and fine – the best part – lovely here.
Domaine wines:
2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Across from Château de Puligny – all elevaged in 600 l barrels – max 5% new oak.
A little aromatic density, yet compact vs many. Driving, fresh, a little savoury in the middle – but this is a wine that combines energy and round shape. Small finishing citrus waves – again a wine where the finish is lovely.
2018 Bourgogne Clos de Chateau
Just to the east of the Chateau.
Rounder nose, there is depth but nothing strikingly inviting at this stage. Fine in the mouth – incisive and fresh – more line, more tension and classier flavour than the previous wine – Excellent.
Hmm, here is a nose that blends attractive depth, and fleshy, tasty fruit. Mineral, wide, faintly fat, a little perfumed depth to the texture, a sparkly, fine finishing complexity – bravo!
2018 Domaine Beaune 1er Aigrots
More airy, wider, fresh white-fleshed fruit and faintly floral nose with a little citrus vibration. A modest lick of oak in the flavours, but here there’s depth of flavour, a great, finish of depth and deliciousness.
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet
Two parcels on the border of Puligny. Vinified in 600 l barrels.
A much more composed – not quite sombre – nose, but of mineral width and some interest. Gas. More mouth-filling volume, layered flavour, a little fat but also a fleshy depth of good flavour. This gets lovelier and lovelier – with a very fine finish.
A more airy, more mineral freshness here, pretty agrume too. Vibrant but a little gas. Wide – ooh that’s super, citrus, delicious and energetic – still with lovely texture – bravo!
Containing some of the declassified Chalumaux
A good nose, widening, getting better and better – really fine! Hmm, wiry, tension, no really fat – though a depth of texture. Executive villages – this is really 1er cru – bravo!
Just a little more towards Blagny.
Hmm – there is clearly an extra openness here an aromatic space – lovely. Gas. Again more open, this more airy and elegant, faintly saline too. Love the subtle width here. More elegant, airy version, less innate power – both bravo!
2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières
Initially more depth and weight of aroma – but blocky vs the last – slowly opening in more floral style. More weight and power, but the drive is fine, very faint rigour. A great finish with beautiful citrus. This will be a super wine.
Fewer top notes, but a beautiful depth of wide and hyper-attractive minerality – very pretty top notes soon start to poke out too – yes! A little fleshy, open, beautiful texture – great saline-edged minerality. Bravo – have a little patience – all is DIAM so no problem!
3 different: Narvaux, Castets and Petit Charrons.
A warmer spiced width of aroma, clean and mineral below. Clean, driving, a little herbed – but attractively herbed – less sweet than the Caillerests, but that’s a great wine.
2018 Domaine Meursault 1er Poruzots
Again a vibrant width of mineral aroma. Gas – a lot. Some mineral rigour but I love the architecture here – open, faintly oaked. Another rather approachable Porusots in 2018. Excellent.
2018 Domaine Meursault 1er Perrières
A more compact nose to start – slowly adding a beautiful floral element. A little gas. A supple wine, one of concentration but the balance ensures not heavy. Nice direction and mouth-watering citrus/lime finishing. Fine and saline in the finish – super long.
The most new oak – practically 40%
Hmm – that’s lovely – a vibrant invitation. Gas. Wide, mouth-filling – transparently mineral. Very very long. There are more delicious wines today, but none to match the volume and length of finish here.
South-facing almost in the village of Aloxe – old vines that miss a little afternoon sun.
A little more impact here, more sense of the chalk, lots of minerality. Gas. A little phenolic – wide, full, open, not really a rigour here – you could almost drink today but the definition is top class.
Les Rouges
Including the Maison de Montille; the split of red to white is about 1:1 here.
2018 Monthèlie
At this stage zero sulfur, 50% whole clusters – there will be zero sulfur at bottling too.
Good colour. It’s certainly a complex nose – initially not that inviting – not really showing any primary fruit. Plenty of concentration, furry tannin, and a delicious fruit – the nose only needs to open. But you’d never guess Monthelie!
2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
3 parcels
Now that’s an attractive nose – the freshness of good fruit – it’s an invitation. Mouth-filling, furry tannin – open, the flavour slowly leaching from plenty of structure in the finish. Needs a little time.
2018 Pommard Les Cras
Only finished malo in October
Hmm – that’s a fuller, fruitier nose – lots of inviting freshness. Some gas. The flavour wide, tasty, suggesting a little wc (one-third) long, and tasty. Wait a little for the tannin to fade – but there’s nothing major to worry about here. Delicious 2018!
2017 Beaune 1er Sizies
Has multiple vine ages, again with whole clusters.
A fresher nose – fruit forward – attractive. Gas. Lots of open volume. A middle freshness of flavour that rises from the structure – the finish is super – but to wait for.
2018 Beaune 1er Perrières
Plenty of older vines plus medium-age vines. Again one-third whole cluster.
A more open nose, here with a more overt whole cluster perfume. Volume like the last but here there is more depth the fruit flavour. Lots of structure to wait for again – though accentuated a little by the gas – super finishing flavour here! Excellent.
2018 Beaune 1er Grèves
A wide nose, neither deep not high toned – but attractive and faintly whole cluster. Gas. A modest reductive impression, but depth, indeed layers of flavour here. Saline, perfumed, whole cluster finishing. Excellent wine.
2018 Volnay 1er Brouillards
First picked vineyard in 2018.
Hmm – directly a delicious invitation – a super Volnay nose of depth and delicacy. Gas. Fine concentration, very fine tannin. Slowly lingering flavour – Love!
2018 Volnay 1er Mitans
0.72 hectares.
A weight of aroma but a guarded delivery of complexity – slowly, slowly adding a beguiling herbed complexity. Gas. Wide, faintly tannic. Very fine grain. Whole-cluster dominated finishing flavour that full and chewy finishing. Super.
2018 Volnay 1er Champans
Only 50% whole cluster or wouldn’t have fit in the tank!
A nicely complex nose – not floral but inviting. Gas. Fuller – more width, layered fruit, ripe but fine freshness. A wine with some power but fine balance. Very long finishing.
2018 Volnay 1er Taillepieds
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.’
Almost a smoky extra dimension to the complexity. Gas. Silky smooth despite the tannin. Long impressive, super wine!
Ooh, this has a nice growing perfume – slightly structural. Fuller, fruitier, accented with oak. But a wine of drive and line. Long but faintly perfumed – a modest weight of finish but great length.
2018 Pommard 1er Pezerolles
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.
A little herb and a lot of whole-cluster, actually a vibrant nose. Fuller, lots of energy, fresh, layers – no waves – of fine, fresh, flavour lapping over the palate. Fine width of flavour – a super wine!
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.
Hmm – that’s an involving nose – beautiful fruit but that’s only a small portion of what’s showing. More structural but open, super-fine fruit – ooh, that’s great but will need a lot of patience – bravo!
2018 Nuits St.Georges Aux St.Julien
Not the biggest nose but the impression of super-fine texture. A super, fresh and wide flavour. This is lovely but needs a little patience – excellent wine.
2018 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.
Hmm – wide, lots of wc energy here. Full, lots and lots of fresh energy – a wine of fine freshness – almost airy. Super wine.
0.84 hectares of vines. Older vines – about 70.
A wide nose, latent weight but compact. Fuller, more concentrated more layered wine. A class above. Super wine!
These last 3 wines had not yet finished their malos…
Northern, middle, third near the tower. 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.’
Ooh, that’s a super fruit, lovely complexity though really with a structure. Big, complex – some structure but fabulous purity – great Clos de Vougeot – bravo!
2018 Vosne-Romanée 1er Malconsorts
About 12 barrels is average here.
A more composed, modestly spiced width of aroma – seems long! Wide on the palate, melting lovely flavour – mainly wc fruit, a little salinity. A ‘small’ wine after the Clos de Vougeot but an impressive one.
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. 6-9 barrels – half a hectare.
More high-toned, fuller, spicier, high-toned nose – there is much more energy here. Extra energy and volume in the mouth too – complex – not the clarity of purpose of the Clos de Vougeot today but great, great wine – bravo!
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