Why We Taste: Revisiting the Sunny 2015 Vintage with Domaine De Montille

2/16/19 -

It's sort of a truism in the wine trade that hyped vintages sell; another truism (especially in Burgundy) is that it's always grower over vintage. So what to make of the ballyhooed 2015 vintage in the Côte d'Or? After a pair of difficult years maked by poor flowering and hail, 2015 was lauded by some as the vintage of the century even before alcoholic fermentation had finished. With this exuberance in mind we tasted the wines from barrel in 2016: the wines were heterogeneous. Some were muscular, extracted, dense, and many were hot, reflecting the solar nature of the vintage (one winemaker, commenting on the high alcohol of some of their premier crus, quipped that they had always wanted to make Rhône wines), others made wines of transparency, elegance, and precision.

Which brings me to the wines of Domaine de Montille. The ripeness of the vintage encouraged whole-cluster fermentation and in the deft hands of Etienne de Montille and his able crew, the wines were vibrant and supple and detailed with excellent complexity to accompany the ripe fruit. And while I'll admit to being somewhat ambivalent when it comes to stem inclusion in Burgundy (I mean, Jayer hated stems, right?), I find myself at a loss to describe how fresh and bright and vibrant the De Montilles are. There’s an inspiring florality in a number of the reds with a corresponding lift to the palate (and this is in the solar 2015!). We are pleased to offer an assortment of the inspiring 2015s which given some time in the bottle have proven to be excellent with fine terroir expression to accompany beautiful fruit, dry extract, and ripe tannins. All have impeccable balance and the structure to age effortlessly. These are a pleasure to taste and among the top wines from the vintage. Bravo! John McIlwain