2019 Beaune, Les Perrières, 1er Cru, Domaine de Montille, Burgundy
Critics reviews
There is more active limestone here. Half the vineyards are over 80 years old, half under 40, but bizarrely, there was more fruit from the older vines. The blend comes in at around 40% whole bunch, with 20% new wood. It is medium purple and shows more personality immediately than the Sizies. It is graciously sensual, and there is a little more wood effect, which gives it a tighter structure.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (October 2020)
From vines that average 60+ years of age, but some are almost 90; 40% whole clusters.
A more deeply pitched and slightly riper but still quite fresh nose reflects notes of poached plum and plenty of floral nuances. The more complex and somewhat more persistent finish has excellent intensity and beautiful detail. This beautiful Beaune 1er displays the slightly chalky texture that it is known for.
Drink from 2029 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (April 2021)
The 2019 Beaune Les Perrières 1er Cru comes from a mixture of vine ages, the oldest around 90 years old. It has an expressive, floral bouquet featuring touches of kirsch and orange blossom; this is one of the most opulent crus. The palate is well balanced with lively red berry fruit, and the calcareous soils lend tension and linearity toward the almost Pommard-like finish.
Drink 2023 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (December 2020)
About this WINE
Domaine de Montille
The De Montille family has long been a venerable one in Burgundy, though Domaine de Montille’s reputation was properly established in 1947: prominent Dijon lawyer Hubert de Montille inherited 2.5 hectares in Volnay, later adding further parcels in Volnay, Pommard and Puligny. Hubert’s style was famously austere: low alcohol, high tannin and sublime in maturity.
His son, Etienne, joined him from ’83 to ’89 before becoming the senior winemaker, taking sole charge from ’95. Etienne also managed Château de Puligny-Montrachet from ’01; he bought it, with investors, in ’12.
The two estates were separate until ’17, when the government decreed that any wine estate bearing an appellation name could no longer offer wine from outside that appellation.
The solution was to absorb the château estate into De Montille – the amalgamated portfolio is now one of the finest in the Côte d’Or.
Etienne converted the estate to organics in ‘95, and to biodynamics in 2005, making the house style more generous and open, focusing on the use of whole bunches for the reds.
Les Perrières
Les Perrières
3.20ha
Appellation: Beaune Premier Cru
Lavalle: not mentioned
Rodier: Première Cuvée
JTCM: premier cru
This is situated at the northern end of the village on the site of former stone quarries. Louis Latour and the Hospices de Beaune have the biggest holdings, while Domaine de Montille has also produced this wine since 2002.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
This vineyard at the northern end of the appellation has a lot of limestone; indeed, it was once a quarry. The high calcium level drives a wine with bright and lifted red cherry fruit. The whole bunches give it a softer counterpoint but, while seemingly delicate, there’s a fine-boned structure to the finish.
Drink 2024 - 2032
Berry Bros. & Rudd
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee