Winemaker Notes
The nose is tickled by a delicate scent of raspberry. The palate is fruity and fleshy. The tannins are prominent, delivering a structured Beaune Grèves with body and beautiful acidity, enhanced by a fair proportion of whole bunch (about a third this year), which adds a nice crunch.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
40% whole bunch, not room enough in the vat for more! Dense purple, the nose slightly more reticent as the serious side of Grèves impinges. A lovely grain to the tannins, a robust heart to the wine. Slightly darker fruit emerges at the back, all good for the long term. Drink from 2031-2038.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 -
Decanter
De Montille owns a magnificent 1.26-hectare parcel in Beaune Grèves just south of Bouchard's Baby Jesus, planted in iron and clay soils over sandy limestone. The vines delivered a complex, compelling wine in 2022: a ripe, plummy fruit with a savoury, gamey edge and a firm, saline undercurrent. Half of the grapes were fermented as whole clusters with a combination of punching down and pumping over. The structure is now supple and silky, yet enough tannin suggests that this will age well.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.