Today’s white Burgundy is the kind of wine sommeliers live for. Why? Well, the value proposition tops the list, but what it’s really about is getting to do the work I was trained to do. Anyone can bring you a bottle of Grand Cru. I want to find you the bottle that punches way above its weight, which means tracking down wines like this Bourgogne Blanc from the “Le Clos du Château” vineyard.
This is a five-hectare, walled-in parcel (clos) that spills down in front of the former Château de Puligny-Montrachet, which Burgundy superstar Étienne de Montille purchased in 2012. All around it are vines with the coveted “Puligny-Montrachet” village designation, but this one, despite being right in the heart of Puligny, is classified “Bourgogne” instead—one of the more grievous anomalies in Burgundy’s incredibly complex appellation hierarchy. Puligny-Montrachet’s fabled band of Grand Cru/Premier Cru vineyards is visible on the slope above, with a half mile or so separating Clos du Château from the most rarefied and expensive Chardonnay real estate on earth. Once you’ve seen that, whether on a map or in person, the extraordinary quality of De Montille’s 2017 makes total sense—and for those of you who consider yourselves Burgundy aficionados, I’d put this up against any village-level Puligny-Montrachet you’d like to throw at it (not to mention more than a few Premier Crus). Étienne de Montille is truly at the top of his game and I think this wine may be the best illustration of that—a fortuitous combination of a special talent and a special place!
Previous incarnations of “Clos du Château” were bottled under the imprimatur of the Château de Puligny-Montrachet, which Étienne purchased in 2012. As of the 2017 vintage, wines from the Château’s 14 hectares of vineyards—which include many choice Premier and Grand Cru parcels—have been folded into the Domaine de Montille lineup. Today, what was once a tiny family domaine has grown to include 35 hectares of vineyards, 20 hectares of which are in Premier and Grand Crus. And then there’s Étienne’s line of négociant wines, produced under the Maison de Montille label; this is one busy Burgundian!
But, as many SommSelect-ers know, Étienne learned how to multi-task from one of the greats: his late, legendary father, Hubert. Immortalized in the documentary film “Mondovino,” Hubert maintained a law practice in Dijon while simultaneously making wines in his small cellar in Volnay, and insisted that his children get “real” jobs before getting into viticulture. Étienne became an investment banker but assisted Hubert in running the domaine throughout the ’80s and ’90s, eventually taking the reins outright in 2001. Over these last two decades, his shrewd vineyard acquisitions and his conversion of the estate to organic and biodynamic viticulture has turned Domaine de Montille into a Burgundian force to be reckoned with.
This is an estate, and a winemaker, that does everything well, but there’s no denying that Étienne has an especially deft touch with whites. The “Clos du Château” bottling, which Étienne has called mon chou-chou (“my favorite”), is fermented and then aged one year in mostly used demi-muid (600L) barrels, followed by a period of about five months in stainless steel before bottling. The soils in Clos du Château are rich in silty clay, lending this wine more heft on the palate than just about any ‘Bourgogne’ wine you’re likely to come across, and again, it would be impossible not to peg this as top-quality Puligny-Montrachet in a blind tasting. Its tension, precision, and depth is simply extraordinary. In the glass, it’s a reflective straw-gold with hint of green at the rim, with aromas of yellow apple, quince, lime blossom, citrus pith, white mushroom, fresh cream, and crushed stones. The palate is medium to medium-plus in body and invigoratingly fresh. It is still, in true De Montille fashion, tightly coiled—this is a wine that will benefit from some time in the cellar, at least five years and likely more, but that shouldn’t keep you from enjoying a bottle sooner: Decant it 45 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 50-55 degrees. I’m craving this white with a beautiful piece of fish cooked en papillote (in parchment) to showcase its crystalline purity. Check out the attached recipe and be sure not to miss this signature wine. Cheers!
