2020 Beaune, Les Perrières, 1er Cru, Domaine de Montille, Burgundy
Critics reviews
Rich fresh ripe purple. Grown on white soil, so was picked early, but as it happens the Perrières underwent a late malolactic and has not yet been sulphured. One third whole bunch, from the very old vines. Definitely a peppery note which is actually welcome given the opulence of the fruit. 13%. Definite structure at the back but better integrated. I really like the perfume that stays behind in the glass.
Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy (January 2022)
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.
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Description
Les Perrières sits at the top of the slope on what was a former quarry, at the northern end of the appellation. The rocky marl soil gives an energetic and crunchy expression of Beaune, with tangy red-cherry fruit and a slightly strict, mineral finish.
Drink 2025 - 2035
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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