2020 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Domaine Lamy-Pillot

Domaine Lamy-Pillot

Domaine Lamy-Pillot is based in the village of Chassagne Montrachet, Burgundy, renowned for producing high-quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines.

The domaine has a long-standing history in Burgundy, with several generations of the Lamy and Pillot families involved in the winemaking tradition. The family’s expertise and dedication to quality winemaking have been passed down through the years, contributing to the estate’s reputation for producing outstanding wines.

The estate owns and manages vineyards in some of the most prestigious terroirs of Chassagne-Montrachet, including Premier Cru and Village-level plots. These vineyards are carefully tended to, and the grapes are hand-harvested to ensure the highest quality fruit for winemaking.

While Domaine Lamy-Pillot also produces red wines from Pinot Noir, the estate is particularly renowned for its white wines crafted from Chardonnay. The unique microclimates and limestone-rich soils of Chassagne-Montrachet contribute to their white wines’ distinct character and finesse.

When it comes to winemaking, the domaine follows traditional practices, focusing on minimal intervention to allow the terroir and grape quality to shine through in the final wines. Using oak barrels for fermentation and ageing adds further complexity and structure to the wines.

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.