The late Hubert de Montille, who passed away in 2014, was already a legend in Burgundy when he was immortalized in the documentary film ‘Mondovino’ (2004). He practiced law and tended the family vineyards in Volnay simultaneously for decades, and was eventually joined by his son, Étienne, and his daughter, Alix—themselves both lawyers who also couldn’t resist the pull of wine.
In addition to continuing their father’s work at Domaine de Montille—which is best known for soulful, mineral reds from Volnay and Pommard—Étienne and Alix have branched out in many directions. Étienne spent time abroad (which included at least one California harvest and a stint bartending at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse), and returned to not only assist Hubert but take over winemaking at the Château de Puligny-Montrachet (which he ended up purchasing in 2012 with a group of investors). Alix, who was seen jousting with Hubert in ‘Mondovino,’ was the driving force behind the project that gives us this wine, their white-wine-focused négociant business called Maison de Montille (formerly ‘Deux Montille Sœur-Frère’). Seeking out great (and sustainable) grape-growers throughout Burgundy, Alix and Étienne assembled a juggernaut that stretches from Chablis to Mâcon—they now produce more than a dozen distinctive whites that are designed to offer great value at every ‘quality tier,’ a case in point being this 2014 Saint-Romain “Le Jarron.” If you like Puligny-esque white Burgundy that just shimmers with energy, this is a wine for you: It is a perfect snapshot of the unique and under-valued terroir of Saint-Romain in the Côte de Beaune.
The commune of Saint-Romain is the ultimate ‘off-the-beaten-path’ appellation, situated a short drive west of the famous village of Meursault. It sits in a mountainous amphitheater, with vineyards arrayed in a jumble of exposures. The main distinction of Saint-Romain is altitude: Some of its vineyards reach to 400 meters, considerably higher than its more famous neighbors to the east, and these cooler sites—still containing the classic Burgundy mix of marl and limestone—produce very precise, aromatic styles of Chardonnay often similar to Puligny and Meursault. (In blind tastings, I often find myself calling wines from Saint-Romain either Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet.)
Alix (who in more recent years has gravitated toward the restaurant business) and Étienne are staunch advocates of organic and biodynamic farming (they converted Hubert to organic back in the ‘80s and to biodynamic in 2005). They don’t purchase grapes from non-sustainable sources, and have convinced many of their grower-partners to convert to organics. This wine hails mostly from a lieu-dit (named vineyard) called “Le Jarrons” (80%), with the remainder coming from a site called “Sous Roches.” The vines are an average of about 30 years old and hand harvested. For this bottling, the grapes were fermented and aged in a mix of used 600- and 228-liter oak barrels, with the aging period lasting 12-14 months. After barrel aging, the wine is put into stainless steel tanks for a short period before bottling.
The De Montilles characterize the 2014 vintage as rather cool, with a late harvest, resulting in wines of “tension, complexity, and intensity.” This has certainly been our experience with ’14 (as our subscribers know well by now), and the De Montilles’ 2014 “Le Jarron” is full of energy. In the glass it is a reflective light straw-yellow with hints of green and gold at the rim, with aromas of green apple, Asian pear, white flowers, raw hazelnut, lees, crushed gravel and a hint of lime blossom. On the palate it is medium bodied and framed by freshness, and after enough time in a decanter the wine’s mid-palate fills out dramatically. There are some kindred qualities to Puligny here, and I could definitely see it aging gracefully in the short term—it should peak about 5-7 years from now (while seeing its best years around 2020). If you’re drinking the wine now, I would advise decanting it about an hour before serving at around 55 degrees in Burgundy stems. Please do not serve this wine too cold. This is a fine-tuned style of Chardonnay which will be versatile with different styles of cuisine (even raw fish), but I’m going for a classic approach with Seared Sea Scallops with Brown Butter and Capers. The dish with young white Burgundy is lights out!
