'Mon Chouchou' - Domaine de Montille's Bourgogne Blanc Le Clos du Chateau
1/19/24 -
Domaine de Montille is an estate that we have come to count on for elegant and impeccably balanced Burgundies. Certified organic and practicing Biodynamic, their wines reflect their careful approach in the vineyards. New oak is used sparingly and always from barrels with light toast, slow lees aging is preferred over excessive lees stirring, and the wines always display suave structure and length. With exceptional holdings in Volnay as well as long-lived Pommards, the domaine, under the assured leadership of Etienne de Montille and his right hand man, Brian Sieve, is producing magnificent, organically-farmed Burgundies on both Côtes.
Today's offer is a rather straightforward affair. We present to you one wine, which Etienne de Montille affectionally calls "mon chouchou." An unasumming Bourgogne Blanc, called 'Le Clos du Chateau,' this is a step up from the village level Bourgogne Blanc, and is one of those special wines that overdelivers for the price. Yes we're talking White Burgundy here, not Muscadet, so it's all relative, but for $53.99 before discount, from the scarce 2021 vintage, this is indeed a great deal.
Though we haven't tried this bottling, we have tried the 2020 Bourgogne Blanc and the 2021 Bourgogne Blanc, and can tell you a few things. One, we love 2020 White Burgundies! What a fantastic year for Chardonnay up and down the appellation. Two, 2021s are leaner, and less generous in their youth than 2020s, but this is to be expected from such a markedly colder year, not to mention one with crippling frost and a fair amount of rainfall. From all estimations, however, the whites from 2021 will settle down and soon lose some of their intensity, and should drink very well for many years to come due to their acidity levels. The third thing we can tell you is that Domaine de Montille makes a consistenly fantastic Bourgogne Blanc, and the '21 was one of the more enjoyable 2021 whites we tried (we don't recommend touching your 2021 Premier cru and Grand Cru bottles for quite some time!). Given that the "Clos du Chateau" is not a multi-parcel wine from various holdings, but instead made from one 5 hectare parcel behind the old Chateau de Puligny Montrachet, this will obviously be even better than their entry-level Bourgogne Blanc, and may need at least an hour decant or a year or more in bottle before starting to really "show its stuff."
More notes on the wine can be found below in the item description, and we are happy to offer a special discount today for those of you who either don't have the budget or space for a case of this delicious white Burgundy. For anyone who does, we would definitely recommend stocking up. If you're like me and you would drink white Burgundy every day if you could (or if you already do this), then this would be a good wine to have more than a bottle of! -EL
