Tasted in Meursault with Brian Seive, 28 October 2020.
Domaine de Montille
rue de But
21190 Puligny-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 39 14
www.demontille.com
More reports for Domaine de Montille.
Brian on 2019:
“We are in a good run of vintages; 2019 the hottest and driest to this point. The vines in soils of clay and iron didn’t suffer, it was the more stony grounds that did. We had later malos but most things have now been sulfured, some twice. We had practically no disease pressure in the vineyards this year – it was a clean year as far as the fruit was concerned. If there’d been any more rain we could have had volumes like in 2017. We picked based on our acid profiles. Most of reds between 12.8-13.2°. Our harvest started 6 September with the whites, by the time finished with reds, it was 19 September.”
The wines…
A whirlwind tour of the major cuvées here, though less than half of what they actually produce – see last year. Excellent to great wines in both colours in 2019 – a very balanced view of the vintage!
DIAM for all the whites here, started with a first cuvée in 2005, their Chateau de Puligny Rosé. Including the wines of Maison de Montille, the split of red to white is about 1:1 here.
2019 Beaune 1er Grèves
50% wc. There will be a racking in January, possibly for a march bottling.
High-tones, faintly spiced, red fruit. Nice shape, beautiful texture, a direct finishing style of flavour. This will be super.
2019 Volnay 1er Champans
400m long rows the soil changing from top to bottom.
An extra width of aroma. Faintly wc-spiced again but more accessible this time. Mouth-filling, great texture again, slowly growing with great fruit and a little more visible tannin – but micro-grained.
1.02 hectares. All wc. Much more iron in the soil. A little older vines than Pezerolles, 50-years-old. Chunks of limestone here and a little chlorosis in the vines.
That’s a really great nose – the spice but width of fruit too. Some gas. Really wide, properly structured, some astringence but no grain to the tannin. I love the intensity without ever going over the top. The most impressive finish so far. A great wine.
0.84 hectares of vines. Older vines – almost 85-year-old vines with a high proportion of wc used.
This has much more width and a more overt wc but it’s still very perfumed here. The finest texture; transparent, almost translucent wine – so elegant and delicate despite the concentration. Long too – a great Corton.
2019 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.
Rounder, deeper aromas – this is very attractive. Structural but melting with mouth-watering flavour. A dynamic style to this wine in the finish- it sparkles. Excellent!
Northern, middle, third near the tower. More clay and moisture-retentive soils over the limestone. About 65-year-old vines, some parts with 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 – in this case, one-third.’
This nose a little smaller but what a nose – more bright perfume, and seamless in style. Incisive, more acidity, the structure is open and clear, the tannin present but grain-less and not aggressive. A finish that recalls the picture-perfect nose – great here – obviously to wait for though.
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 the domaine’s two Malconsorts was not identical. 6-9 barrels – half a hectare.
A larger nose that’s a slightly more profound version of the Clos de Vougeot from the perspective of the seamless style – the last drops in the glass are really great. Wow – that’s very direct, dynamic and imprinted by the tannic structure and super acidity today. Lip-smacking finishing flavour and very long. Certainly a wine for the patient, but what a finish!
Les Blancs:
South to north, maison:
2019 Maison Bourgogne Chardonnay
Montagny villages declassified, next to Quer – two small parcels, organic. All barrel elevage but none new.
A bright, punchy nose – round – with sherbet – you might guess Montagny. I like the energy here, melting over the palate, rather classic and fine citrus. Excellent Bourgogne.
2019 Montagny Les Quers
10% new oak in this
A much finer and more precise nose. Bright, energetic, layered with a super growth of mid-palate finishing flavour. That’s a great finish. Super wine.
‘Rully is becoming harder and harder to buy – particularly organic grapes like here.’
That’s a punchy, wide nose – lots of energy here – lovely purity of fresh citrus, very attractive. Super in the mouth – so fresh, zesty, lots of citrus – not a typical Rully. Fine tension, great flavour Bravo!
2019 St.Romain
A blend of three parcels here. Half stainless elevage.
A riper core of aroma here, framed in a fresh style. Wide, intense, mouth-watering. Excellent once more.
Domaine wines:
Domaine – a slightly different profile, more lees, a little stirring – mainly because have more confidence in the fruit:
This will have a longer elevage – it’s now in tank.
A more agrume style of fruit vs the previous wines. Fuller, more depth of texture, perhaps richness but so open and melting with flavour and so long too – That’s top Beaune!
A cuvée name. 3 different: Narvaux, Castets and Petit Charrons.
A wide nose of super freshness. Bubbling with energy. Quite an incisive flavour, then so mouth-watering. Great start, great finish – a bit rushed in-between but absolutely delicious and clearly potentially great villages!
2019 Domaine Meursault 1er Poruzots
A little more depth to this aroma – Meursault-spiced-style depth. More mouth-filling and structural in style. Cool-fruited, slowly evolving with layers of juicy flavour. That’s a very nice finish too. Very accommodating wine despite the structure.
2019 Domaine Meursault 1er Perrières
Ooh, a deep nose, vibrant, still a little reductive. Wide, vibrantly energetic in the mouth – growing in intensity at the same time. Such a peak of flavour after you spit/swallow. Then a long slow diminuendo for the finish. Faintly accented with the tannin of the vintage. Without doubt, excellent.
2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières
That’s a big nose – lots of open and attractive aroma here, only very subtly reductive. A clarity of flavour, vibrant again. More reductive in the flavour than the nose. Quite an intense finish – long, padded with the tannin. Strict but not very strict – extra tasty.
Such a finesse of aroma – beautiful though less full attack vs the Folatières. Clarity, direction, fine citrus, mouth-watering, faintly saline at the edge. Growing wider and wider and wider in the finish. Understated delivery that still promises great wine.
Directly above the parcel of Caillerets
Vibrant, mineral and a little reductive nose. There’s another level on the palate – such clarity and growing mounting great flavour – everything that the Caillerets is suggesting, the Chevalier simply delivers. Bravo!
South-facing almost in the village of Aloxe – old vines that miss a little afternoon sun.
I expect a very different nose vs the Chevalier, but today – perhaps because of the similar reduction they have much in common. Bigger, a more juicy delivery of flavour here. Wide and intense – in the mouth a completely different beast, but such persistence. Another great Charlemagne – there have been a few this year!