Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth consecutive generation of his family to be involved in winemaking. He began apprenticing directly beneath his father, Jean, in 1985. By 1991, he had assumed leadership of the family property, though he is assisted in numerous regards by his wife, Nadine, and sister, Beatrice. Pillot owns and farms a broad range of Premier and Grand Cru vineyards in the villages of Santenay, Puligny, Meursault, Montigny, and Remigny. Still, there is little debate that the family’s finest wines originate from their ample Premier Cru Chassagne-Montrachet holdings. Today’s wine originates from Pillot’s microscopic 0.28-hectare sliver of vines in the Premier Cru “Les Macherelles,” a site located dead-center in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet, and just south of Premier Cru “Chenevottes.” Planted in 1951 and farmed 100% organically, this is a site that always produces round, luscious, and instantly gratifying Chassagne.

Fermented in 90% neutral and 10% new oak barrels, Pillot’s 2015 “Les Macherelles” is a wine that purely expresses its outstanding site and generous vintage of origin. Full of vivid aromas and ripe fruit, this wine leaps from the glass with a torrent of lemon cream, asian pear, yellow apple, white flower blossoms, citrus blossom honey and a subtle whisper of vanilla and oak spice. It is in perfect form today and you should not hesitate to drink it immediately. Typically I advise aging Jean-Marc’s best wines for seven to ten years before peak drinking, but this beauty is ready today, and I expect it will be continue in this current explosive state for another four to six years. You don’t need to wait or perfectly time anything, simply decant for 20 minutes, serve at cellar temperature in large Burgundy stems, and enjoy the fireworks. My fiancée and I emptied our first bottle of today’s wine alongside a crispy platter of fried chicken thighs and a basket of corn bread. Granted, it’s not the most elegant or refined dish ever paired with Chassagne-Montrachet, but it was a lights-out combination: Give it a shot!