Mont de Milieu

Mont-de-Milieu is the Pinson family’s largest holding of the Premiers Crus and consequently something of a flagship wine. The nose shows a little of its oak élevage at present, along with subtle wafts of noble reduction. There is a wonderful concentration of fruit, beautifully intertwined with cool, marine notes. A harmonious wine with great finesse and elegance. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The legendary Louis Pinson himself retired in 1983, having made some fabulous oldstyle Chablis. His great-grand-daughter, Charlène, along with her father Laurent and her uncle Christophe are now in charge. There is a Rue Pinson in Chablis, dating back to an earlier generation when three Pinson brothers lived in identical houses on the street. Everything is hand-harvested, with sorting of the grapes both in the vineyard and at the winery. The wines are wild-fermented, mostly in stainless steel tanks, before barrel ageing, with the proportion of oak depending on the cuvée. Despite describing 2016 as a testing year, Laurent Pinson and his daughter Charlène are upbeat, declaring themselves very happy with the quality of the grapes and resultant wines. Volumes are down in many cases, and the limited-production Cuvée Mademoiselle has not been made this year.

Pale primrose in colour, this is ripe, floral and quite exotic (almost passion fruit). There follows a super acidity to retain the freshness. This is a lovely wine with an abundance of just-ripe fruit.

The vineyards near to Chablis itself were affected by the heat at Whitsun, which damaged the flowering, so the quantity of wine is no better than last year. Outlying communes, however, were less impacted. Benoît began the harvest early, on 11th September. He compares 2014 to 1996, 2007 (only richer) and 2010 (only more mineral). A recent development here is for the wines to be fermented using their own indigenous yeasts.

Although made in a mix of new, one- and two-year-old barrels, the oak does not show. This is a really good wine with fruit to the fore, superb volume and great style. It has magical power through the middle and a tiny note of lemon balm on top of vivid bright fruit. It is very long and persistent.

Laurent Pinson is happy to report better volumes than in recent vintages, and more typical Chablis in style. The grapes ripened nicely yet retained very good acidity. The crop was picked by hand in good weather, and fermented with natural yeasts. The crus are all barrel-aged, with a small proportion being barrel fermented. As usual, we see not just great quality but also excellent value for money at this estate.

Every year we like these wines, and every year when we try the wines that we bought the year before, we like them even more. Laurent Pinson and his daughter Charlène are doing a wonderful job and producing outstanding Chablis for very reasonable prices. All of the wines are hand harvested and the 1ers Crus are matured in barrel, though without the influence of new wood.

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This is the flagship 1er Cru Pinson vineyard and it has produced a fantastic 2011 which is very complete on the nose, with white peaches and a sense of harmony. It’s dense and concentrated on the palate , with an impressive volume of fruit and the expected excellent length.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

This is the domaine’s most substantial holding, its flagship Premier Cru. After a discreet start it displays a brilliant second half of the palate: a tannin or two at the back, lovely balance between the fruit (mirabelle and peach) and minerality, and an impressively long finish.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Wine Director

This long-established family domaine impresses us more and more with every vintage. The Pinsons have always picked by hand and they are now using natural yeasts for the vinification process. Most wines are vinified in stainless steel, with a small percentage in barrel for the top wines, then matured in barrel for up to a year. The only bad news in 2012 is the quantity: 20% down for straight Chablis, 25-30% less across the Premier Cru vineyards and minus 50% on the Grand Cru which was affected by frost.

The Pinson family has nearly five hectares here and consequently this is something of a flagship wine. With 10 percent of the cuvée fermented in new oak, there is more spice here, but the class of the wine ensures it is not dominant. There is a piercing mineral core and immense concentration; a real star of the vintage. Drink 2022-2030.

It’s mixed news this year: while 2017 sees the return of the much-loved Cuvée Mademoiselle, overall there is less wine than in 2016, frost damage having cut the crop by anything up to 70 percent, with the worst-affected area being Les Clos. Despite the obvious disappointment of the small crop, Laurent and Charlène were delighted with the quality and health of the grapes at harvest, and feel this is a classically Chablisien vintage.