Les Tailles-Pieds

Despite the hail it was possible to do 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation after meticulous sorting. The colour is bright and fresh, while the nose offers some wild strawberry, floral notes. The stems make the finish a touch dry at the moment, but this will come together and soften. There is a brilliant quality of fruit at the finish.

Étienne de Montille began picking whites on 10th and reds on 13th September, relatively early. Despite the hail (worst in Pommard than Beaune, Volnay less) yields were slightly improved compared to 2013. The fruit was clean with small berries, and beautiful clusters, so they were able to continue with their usual programme of whole-bunch vinification in most instances. The details are given for each wine. They will be long lived wines.

Vinification with the stems gives these wines a notable character on the nose, with floral, spice and rose petals all coming to the fore, and an impressive density on the palate. This is a very graceful wine, and the finish shows a touch of tannin to maintain structure.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Domaine de Montille picked between the 18th and 26th September in 2010. The red wines, made by American Brian Sieve (one of two winemakers in this catalogue born in Indianapolis!) under the surveillance of Etienne de Montille, now show a consistency of style and quality that perhaps was not entirely there a few years ago. The whites are the responsibility of Etienne’s sister Alix and maintain the class of recent times. Together they have produced a fine result in 2010.

Clear, bright and glowing purple this seductive looking Volnay from Domaine de Montille does not disappoint. Very fine, soft and elegant fruit in the foreground is followed by fruit that builds steadily on the palate and keeps going all the way through.

Glowing pale purple, with a heavenly hillside Volnay scent of vibrant cherry and raspberry fruit, this is really elegant, yet with a fine core of concentrated fruit. The grapes were healthy enough to allow a small percentage of whole bunches here.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Each time we have tasted Marc-Olivier Buffet’s 2013’s we have liked them more and more. His ‘softly softly’ approach to the vintage, with very little whole bunch fermentation and very light extraction has paid off. With skilled de-stemming he aimed for whole berries but not whole bunches in the vats.
 

This beautiful wine combines all the elegance of Volnay with the power of a leading Premier Cru. Energy, weight, persistence and class are all displayed in a sumptuous mass of glowing red fruit. This will be attractive whilst young but will also age very well. Drink 2011-2017.

Rich, soft and round strawberry fruit is evident this year in the Taillepieds, which has extra length and a more powerful finish than the elegant Champans.

Only one and a half barrels were made and this Volnay Taillepieds, 1er Cru has a good, bright colour and an energetic bouquet of rich red fruit, supported by new wood. This is notably weighty in 2012, even a touch austere, but the concentration is unquestionably there.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

We have bought wines from this domaine in previous vintages, but this is the first year that they are appearing in the Opening Offer. Marc-Olivier Buffet, son of François, is the man in charge. He has a superb range of Premiers Crus in Volnay and Pommard, and though he managed to make them all in 2012, volumes are minute: below 10 hl/ha. He did not use many stems in 2012 and such is the concentration of the wines that he will give them a longer barrel maturation than usual. Beautiful wines with great aromatics, and keen pricing to boot.

It was a freak year for this vineyard. The vines are 65 years old, on small, sharp gravel over limestone, and what was produced was superb. The domaine has vines above and below the small road dividing the vineyard. The frost wiped out everything on the lower vines, gave only 40 percent in the middle, but gave twice the usual yield at the top – an extraordinary event. Huge levels of ripeness were achieved, nothing was de-stemmed and 30 percent new wood used for a wine that is as exceptional historically as it is qualitatively. A lighter extraction was used this year for a highly perfumed, yet gracefully structured wine. Drink 2022-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Domaine de Montille was developed by Hubert de Montille (1930-2014), a prominent Dijon lawyer, who inherited 2.5 hectares of vineyards in Volnay in 1947. Over the years he acquired further parcels in Volnay, Pommard and Puligny-Montrachet Les Caillerets. Today the business is run by his son Étienne who has extended the domaine by purchases of vineyards in Beaune, Corton and the Côte de Nuits, including some marvellous Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and the red wines are increasingly vinified with whole bunches. Following the splendid successes here in 2015, this vintage provides a contrast in style, but with reasons to buy that are just as compelling. Volumes are down in certain appellations and winemaking has been tempered to release more of the vintage’s purity of fruit and definition of terroir. Use of whole bunches for the reds continues, but not by rote, with proportions being adjusted according to each cuvée’s requirements.

So good is the 80-year-old plant material in this exceptional vineyard that 100 percent whole-bunch is used regardless of the vintage. The floral perfume is sublime, while the palate has a confident feel with sweet red-berry fruit layered over gravelly tannins and culminating in a slatey, saline finish. Drink 2023-2033.

Winemaker Brian Sieve draws comparisons between the white wines of 2017 and 2014, explaining that the texture, weight and freshness are very similar in both years, although 2017 has perhaps a little more fruit ripeness, along with excellent tension and persistence. He believes that this same freshness and brightness in the reds will provide ageing capacity, pointing out that they worked hard to restrict the yield of Pinot Noir to achieve riper grapes. Overall slightly less whole-bunch fermentation was used as Brian felt the stems and fruit were not as ripe as in richer vintages.

So good is the 80-year-old plant material in this exceptional vineyard that 100% whole-bunch is used regardless of the vintage. The nose has a magnificent floral perfume, while the palate is initially creamy and rounded with incredible fruit weight, before the firm, mineral core stretches the finish. Drink2025-2035.

This is always a thrilling wine at this address. Sixty-year-old, very millerandé (so low-yielding) vines on stony soil give heady yet rigorous aromas that then diffuse into the velvety palate. Drink 2024-2030.