2020 Beaune, Les Grèves, 1er Cru, Domaine de Montille, Burgundy
Critics reviews
The 2020 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru is also one-third whole-cluster (based on fitting it on the cuve, so it was more than intended). Dark berry fruit, a touch of black olive and hints of presses iris petal unfold on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and granular texture with a fresh, slightly chalky finish. Very fine. Closure: Diam
Drink 2023 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (December 2021)
Cask sample. Rounded, ripe red fruits with firm but not dry or green tannins. Round with fresh minerality.
Drink 2025 - 2035
Matthew Hayes, JancisRobinson.com (January 2022)
Showing pronounced cassis and plum fruit with a floral edge and a hint of pepper. The full body and supple tannins are enlivened by bright acidity to produce a very energetic impression on the palate—good extract and length. The 1.26ha de Montille parcel of Beaune Grèves is just south of Bouchard's Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus. The vines here are almost 50 years old. The fruit ripened extremely well in 2020, and the grapes were fermented with nearly 50% whole-cluster before ageing in 25% new casks.
Drink 2025 - 2050
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (November 2021)
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.
Beaune
The wines of Beaune are usually on the lighter side, especially if from the flatter vineyards on the Pommard side, or the sandier soils towards Savigny. The sturdiest wines with the greatest depth of flavour come from the steeper slopes overlooking the town itself.
The Hospices de Beaune charity auction on the third Sunday in November is one of the highlights of the year. The Hospices building, known as l'Hôtel-Dieu, is well worth visiting. Beaune is also home to several of the region’s best known merchants such as Maisons Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin.- 128 hectares of village Beaune and 52 hectares of Côte de Beaune
- 322 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards. The finest vineyards include Les Grèves, Clos des Mouches
- Recommended producers: Germain, Devevey, Domaine des Croix, Jadot, Drouhin, Camille Giroud.
- Recommended restaurants: Ma Cuisine (not least for the wine list), Le Conty
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
The 2020 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru is also one-third whole-cluster (based on fitting it on the cuve, so it was more than intended). Dark berry fruit, a touch of black olive and hints of presses iris petal unfold on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and granular texture with a fresh, slightly chalky finish. Very fine. Closure: Diam
Drink 2023 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (December 2021)
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