2021 Pommard, Les Rugiens-bas, 1er Cru, Domaine de Montille, Burgundy
Critics reviews
Rich crimson. A little bit of reduction but undoubtedly a powerful depth of quality fruit, on the darker side. Spicy as well as full of fruit, quite prominent acidity, the drier aspect from the 50% whole bunch. The fruit remains exceptionally youthful and will grow to cover the structure.
Drink 2027 - 2033
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (January 2023)
From a 1.02 ha holding; 50% whole clusters.
This is also presently moderately reduced and revealing little. On the plus side, there is excellent intensity to the sleek, chiseled and delicious medium weight flavours that terminate in a lingering finish that is much like the Taillepieds, e.g. overtly mineral-driven, austere and compact. This should be excellent in time but it’s not likely to make for especially interesting early drinking.
Drink from 2033 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (April 2023)
The 2021 Pommard Les Rugiens-Bas 1er Cru has a slightly chalky nose, a mélange of red and black fruit and touches of undergrowth and autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, crisp and focused, quite elegant towards the finish with a long aftertaste. I can see this evolving over the long term.
Drink 2025 - 2040
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2023)
In 2021, two-thirds of the grapes were fermented as whole clusters before ageing in cask (one-third new).
The Rugiens-Bas has always been among the flagships of the de Montille estate since the time of Hubert. The 2021 vintage has delivered a wine in the classic Pommard style, somewhat restrained at first but opening with time to reveal a massive earthy, smoky fruit character. The texture is formidable, with firm tannins, fresh acidity, and abundant extract. The grapes come from the domaine-owned hectare parcel planted with old vines.
Drink 2027 - 2050
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (November 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.
Pommard
The most powerful red wines of the Côte de Beaune emanate from Pommard, where complex soils with a high proportion of iron-rich clay produce deep-coloured, relatively tannic wines. A Pommard that is ready to drink in its first few years is probably not going to be a great example of the appellation.
Two vineyards stand out: the lower part of Les Rugiens, which has been mooted for promotion to Grand Cru status, and the five-hectare, walled Clos des Epéneaux, monopoly of Comte Armand.- 212 hectares of village Pommard
- 125 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (28 in all). The finest vineyards include Les Rugiens, Les Epénots (including Clos des Epéneaux) and Pézérolles
- Recommended producers: Comte Armand, de Montille, de Courcel, J-M Boillot
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
From a 1.02 ha holding; 50% whole clusters.
This is also presently moderately reduced and revealing little. On the plus side, there is excellent intensity to the sleek, chiseled and delicious medium weight flavours that terminate in a lingering finish that is much like the Taillepieds, e.g. overtly mineral-driven, austere and compact. This should be excellent in time but it’s not likely to make for especially interesting early drinking.
Drink from 2033 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (April 2023)
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