2020 PULIGNY-MONTRACHET, DOMAINE de MONTILLE (Magnum)

Their Puligny-Montrachet comes from vines totalling 1.48ha in 3 separate plots – Les Chalumeaux, Levron, and Baudrières-Nosroy with mixed soils of marl, clay, and limestone.

100% Chardonnay

Domaine de Montille is nearly 300 years old although the present Domaine we know was formally named as such in 1863. The present owner winemaker is Etienne de Montille who took over from his father Hubert in 1990. He was also an astute buyer of vineyards (not doubt from his formal legal training) and has grown the Domaine to 37has (over 35 different AOCs) in size from just 3has!

Arguably the most important was the acquisition of Château de Puligny-Montrachet in 2012. This enabled them to become a major producer of both red and white wine wines throughout the Côte d’Or.

A long-term advocate for organic farming Etienne oversaw the transformation of the estate to full Biodynamics by 2005. Regarding winemaking Etienne works closely with American born chef de cave Brian Sieve, who has been with the Domaine for over a decade. Today, they make wines that are aromatic, supple, and approachable in their youth, but still offer the great capacity for ageing.

2020 was christened “the Covid vintage” (of course) and was a very warm summer and early ripening. Handpicked grapes were barrel fermented in a mix of 600 and 228 litre casks (around 10% new), with light toasting, for around 12 months – with a further “rest” in stainless steel for 6 months prior to bottling.

will easily keep and evolve for another 5-8 years, not least being in magnum format.