Winemaker Notes
This beautiful plot offers a steeply slope with good sunshine thanks to its South-East exposure. Starting with a stony clay and chalk soil, the slope becomes more and more white marls in the upper side. This is a good confirmation to the ancestor’s intuition for the best terroirs.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A mere two barrels of this wine were bottled separately for the first time in 2015, but for 2016 quantities are so small that it will be blended into the village Monthélie. Though the wine's DNA is the same, the premier cru cuvée is more complete and rich than the village bottling, with a fragrant bouquet of red cherry and rose and an elegant, detailed palate. Drinking Window 2019 - 2035
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The maiden 2015 Monthélie 1er Cru Les Clous, which was promoted to premier cru just five or six years ago, comes from a small 0.16-hectare parcel of vines planted on white soils. It contains a maximum of 10% whole bunch fruit. The nose takes a little time to settle, but eventually reveals attractive brambly red berry and briary scents, a touch of truffle in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with good backbone, almost Pommard-like in structure, a little austere yet with plenty of depth on the finish. This marks a very promising debut.
Range: 89-91
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.”
WBO30200571_2015 Item# 414628