2009 Pommard Les Rugiens 1er Cru

One of the longest tastings in Burgundy was chez de Montille. This is due to the size of both their Domaine and négociant operations, also since the name subsumed the portfolio under Château de Puligny-Montrachet (except the morsels of white sold to Domaine d’Eugénie.) It is one of the few ranges that straddle both the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits in numbers. Head winemaker Brian Sieve was on hand to escort me through the wines. “We came off 2018 with a bountiful crop with beautiful wood for the pruning season,” Sieve explained. “So, the beginning of 2019 was as fluid as it could be, bud break very consistent because we pruned later. Everything was homogenous in the sense we didn’t have a lot of double [buds] nor bad frost where our vines are located. We had very little disease pressure, so we used minimal copper in the vineyard. In 2019 we had one of the five driest summers ever recorded, but we had a relatively normal 2018 and springtime in terms of rainfall. This meant we didn’t have [an excess of] fruit that could not be supported by the vines. You needed to nail your picking dates in 2019. We started the harvest on 6 September for the whites and finished on 17 or 18 September. We cropped at 30-40hl/ha and everything was balanced. The fruit was clean and healthy, the alcohol levels saw nothing over 13.4° for the whites and 13.5° for the reds. The pH was a touch higher than 2017. The Maison de Montille wines were racked before August and will be aged in barrel until February before they will be fined and bottled.”

Such is the range of de Montille’s portfolio both in terms of location and status that there will be some vineyards that perform better than others, not least in an atypically dry season. Sieve’s point about the impact of the previous growing season on 2019 is a salient one, much like the heavy downpours that accompanied my trip in October 2020 will benefit the vines next year, should another dry summer prevail. In comparing Maison and Domaine, it is useful to study the entry-level Bourgogne Rouge, the former de-stemmed and the latter containing 30% whole bunches and showing more complexity. Whereas the Maison de Montille wines might have wider appeal, the Domaine de Montille wines quite rightfully remain faithful to the style of winemaking espoused by the late Hubert de Montille. There are some real Premier Cru gems to look out for such as the Beaune Les Perrières, Volnay Taillepieds, Pommard Les Rugiens and a wonderful Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Thorey - one of my favourite Premier Crus in the appellation. This year there is little to choose between the regular Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts and the Cuvée Christiane. If I was to opt for one Grand Cru, then, like many producers, De Montille excelled with a Clos Vougeot that was extremely focused and complex.

I spent two hours at Domaine de Montille with Etienne de Montille and winemaker Brian Sieve. I tasted their entire portfolio that is now simply divided into Domaine de Montille and their négociant arm under Maison de Montille. Etienne was clear that their focus is no much more upon their own vineyards, hence the number of cuvées under Maison de Montille is smaller than it was a few years ago. Their portfolio has also subsumed the cuvées hitherto bottled under the Château du Puligny-Montrachet label, since the authorities now forbid names of appellations to be within names of domaines (unless you are Domaine de la Romanée-Conti!) This makes this tasting now much more straightforward as before there were a couple of cuvées under both names. Sieve explained the 2018 growing season. "Our nights were not that cold and so photosynthesis started very early in the morning, more sunlight going into the fruit. People that suffered were those that had frost or hail in 2017. In 2016 our yields were acceptable and this translated into balanced yields in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 we didn’t have anything above 48hl/ha for the reds but it was above that for the whites, albeit mainly driven by the Bourgogne Blanc. The 2018 was hot but we did not have scorching days like in 2019. At harvest, the temperature was 14-15°C and extraction happened within three days, whereas in 2019 you needed to extract more. The highest alcohol is 13.3% with 90% of the cuvées around 12.9-13.1% range." De Montille then offered his own thoughts on the size of the crop. "The abundance was not because of human action. It just happened that at some stage nature’s parameters were aligned in terms of water availability, flowering, sanitary condition and so on that it was so abundant for white grapes. The last time was in 1982 but we were looking for more grapes back then." Readers should note that all their white wines have been bottled under Diam since 2011.

Etienne de Montille was attending the funeral of Henri Roch when I visited the domaine. Winemaker Brian Sieve took me through the comprehensive range that includes Domaine de Montille and Château de Puligny-Montrachet, and also their négociant arm, Maison de Montille. I will not say too much here, since Sieve kindly offered his thoughts in the form of a video that viewers can see in the Multimedia section. Suffice to say that he commenced the harvest on August 28 or 29 for the whites, a little rain falling on August 30 meaning some parcels were picked before those showers, and the reds were picked September 2–10. Among the reds, there are many delights, not least a divine Nuits Saint-George Aux Thorey, one to compare with Cathiard’s, perhaps, and I find commendable consistency across Volnay and Pommard, the heart of the range.

Domaine de Montille normally harvests for fresh acidity, said winemaker Brian Sieve, and he and owner Etienne de Montille started bringing in their red grapes on September 21 in ’16, with potential alcohol levels between 12.3% and 12.7%. But they declassified any vineyards that carried only secondary buds and actually chaptalized less than they had in 2015. Sieve reduced the percentage of whole-cluster fermentation from recent vintages and did what he described as very little extraction. “The wines have gotten fresher and brighter than we would have thought at the beginning,” he told me in November, adding that the team made 13 separate treatments against mildew and oidium from May through the end of July.

Sieve has backed off on total maceration time in recent vintages (it’s now around 17 days, vs. 20 previously) and does not believe in post-maceration fermentation. Beginning with the 2015 crop, he has also reduced the number of pigeages. He describes himself as “more pragmatic about the use of whole clusters than Etienne," adding that Etienne’s father Hubert “always had a recipe of 50% vendange entier, except for some 100% experiments in the late ‘90s.”

Incidentally, the 2015s here were filtered because the high percentage of whole clusters used to ferment the wines resulted in a bit more turbidity than winemaker Sieve was comfortable with. But he noted that the estate's lenticular filtration system gives extra flexibility, allowing them to preserve texture and structure in the finished wines by not having to force the wines through a membrane filter.

The 2015 reds from Etienne de Montille stood out in my fall tastings this year. Low yields and astute harvest timing (between September 2 and 8) provided what winemaker Brian Sieve described as “clean, healthy fruit with good phenolic ripeness." He went on: "We could do whatever we wanted in terms of extraction; we were able to hit the accelerator. We had zero disease pressure in 2015. Our biggest concern was having too much darker stone fruit flavors; we did not want to remake our 2009s.” Sieve added that the estate “picks on acidity.”

Sugar levels in the grapes were mostly between 12.5% and 12.8% and Sieve chaptalized lightly to extend the fermentations. “When the fruit is cold and hard, we look for whole-cluster maceration,” said Sieve. “We don't punch down at that point; we’re just worried about keeping the cap wet. In fact, we don’t start with punchdowns until the middle of the fermentations, after a cold soak of five or six days and foulage by foot during the early days of fermentation. Then we go to two pigeages per day during the active part of the fermentation, then back down to one a day—maybe 15 in total for each cuvée, with four or five foulages and three pumpovers.

Yields were in the range of 15 to 25 hectoliters per hectare, reflecting the lingering effects of hail during the previous three vintages, especially in the estate’s older vines. But Sieve noted that 2016 finally brought a healthy quantity of grapes: between 35 and 40 hectoliters per hectare. The 2015s finished their malolactic fermentations late, in August and September, and the wines were still in barriques, some of them racked. “They still need more time for a second élevage in barrels,” noted Sieve.

Winemaker Brian Sieve stepped up his use of whole clusters in 2014, especially for the estate’s wines from the Côte de Nuits, but carried out a softer extraction for wines from vineyards that had been hit by hail. Most of the 2014s were bottled in May and June of 2016.

Winemaker Brian Sieve stepped up his use of whole clusters in 2014, especially for the estate’s wines from the Côte de Nuits, but carried out a softer extraction for wines from vineyards that had been hit by hail Most of the 2014s were bottled in May and June of 2016

According to chef de cave Brian Sieve, this estate vinified with a higher percentage of whole clusters in 2014 than it had the previous year, as there was more phenolic ripeness. “We also put the breaks on extraction in our hailed-on parcels,” he told me in November. The fruit came in with potential alcohol between 12% and 12. 5% and the wines were chaptalized between 0. 5 and 1. 0 degree. Compared to the 2013, pHs were on the high side in 2014, typically between 3. 55 and 3. 6. Most of the 2014s had been racked in September and returned to neutral oak for their final months of élevage.

Not surprisingly, the Domaine de Montille wines from the Côte de Nuits are more successful than those from the Côte de Beaune; in fact, Etienne de Montille's two cuvées from Vosne-Romanée Les Malconsorts look to be stunners. De Montille is another farsighted Côte de Beaune vigneron who has benefitted dramatically by diversifying his holdings into the Côte de Nuits. Finding high-quality vineyards in the Côte de Nuits today is way harder—and far more expensive—than it was even a decade ago.

Etienne de Montille picked before the worst of the rains in 2013, making wines with lower-than-average alcohol and higher acidity. According to chef de cave Brian Sieve, there was more hail in 2013 than in 2014, and pHs were higher in ’14.

Etienne de Montille finished harvesting on both the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits by the time it began raining on the night of October 5. Grape sugars were generally between 12% and 12.2% and the wines will not be much above 12.5% when they go into bottle next spring. De Montille vinified with a lower-than-usual percentage of whole clusters in 2013 owing to the vintage's high acidity and low alcohol, as well as to the impact of hail in many of the estate's Côte de Beaune vineyards. Except for his Bourgogne, the wines had been racked in September or early October following the late malolactic fermentations and then returned to older barrels. De Montille planned to move the wines into tanks for at least two or thee months beginning in early January and then bottle between March and June. There's a distinctly cool quality to a number of these wines but they should approach their peaks earlier than the 2012s, which are considerably richer in polyphenols, according to de Montille. As of 2012, the entire estate is certified organic by Ecocert.

Etienne de Montille's 2012 reds stand out for their intensity and personality. Much of that is attributable to the low yields, thick skins and slow malos that are so typical of this vintage. Because of the very late malos some of the wines in the range were impossible to get a read on, the Taillepieds in particular. In other cases, such as with the Malconsorts, the wines were clearer to read. Where that is the case, I have included notes. One of the aspects of these 2012s that is intriguing is that the domaine used a large percentage of whole clusters, yet the stems are much better integrated from the outset than they have been in the recent past.

Etienne de Montille has eliminated some red wines of Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet and moved some of that estate's top whites under the Domaine de Montille umbrella.Owing to the low yields and unusual intensity of fruit in 2012, he vinified the family domain's wines with a high percentage of whole clusters."The '12s have more mid-palate stuffing than the 2010s," he told me, "but not quite the ethereal, high-pitched quality of the earlier vintage.Both years are broad and full of energy."Potential alcohol levels were in the very healthy 12.5% to 12.7% range and only a few wines were chaptalized lightly.De Montille told me he did a relatively gentle extraction for his Cote de Beaune wines:a maximum of four punchdowns a day during the two or three most active days of the fermentation, but also some remontage "because the wines needed to breathe."The wines had been racked and returned to barrel because they needed more air following the very late malolactic fermentations, which finished mostly in August and September. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., www.martinscottwines.com; Beaune Imports, www.beauneimports.com; Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com)

Etienne de Montille's American chef de cave Brian Sieve explained one of the key differences between the two cotes in 2011."The flowering for us was excellent on the Cote de Beaune," he told me."But conditions were cooler when the flowering occurred on the Cote de Nuits, and there was more millerandage there.We had humid southern winds in August, and we began harvesting very early on the Cote de Beaune, on August 27, and picked in a rush.On the Cote de Nuits, most sites weren't quite ready but the skins were healthier.But we still had a good-sized harvest in 2011, better than in either 2012 or 2010."Potential alcohols ranged from 11.7% to 12.7%, added Sieve, and all wines except for the Pommard Grands Epenots were chaptalized.For the cuvees vinified with 100% whole clusters, said Sieve, the team allowed the berries to be slowly crushed under their own weight, using what he described as "bucket-overs" during the middle of the fermentation but avoiding pigeages.But for the wines made from destemmed fruit (Etienne de Montille was worried about the possible presence of mildew in some sites), the estate carried out numerous pumpovers, up to three or four a day during the first days of the fermentation.The 2011 malos did not finish until last summer.Unless otherwise noted, my samples were taken from tank. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., www.martinscottwines.com; Beaune Imports, www.beauneimports.com; Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com)

Etienne de Montille describes 2010 as similar to 2002, but with less acidity. He adds that 2010 is a vintage where the end result was less apparent early on than years like 2006 and 2007, where the wines turned out pretty much as originally expected. According to de Montille, there isn't a huge difference between the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. That may be true here, but in my view it is not the case in a broader context. De Montille tends to pick early, and his wines in the cellar also finish their malos fairly quickly, which is how things played out in 2010 as well. Most of the 2010s had been racked into steel at the time of my visit, except for the Corton Clos du Roi, Clos Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée Malconsorts, Vosne-Romanée Malconsorts Christiane, which I tasted from barrel. The harvest started on September 20 and ran through the 28th. Some wines were lightly chaptalized. De Montille planned to start bottling in January 2012 with a handful of the entry-level bottlings. I also tasted the 2009s. I will have more to say in our April issue, but for now I can share that the wines have developed beautifully. De Montille's decision to pick early certainly seems to have paid off.

Tasting red wines with Etienne de Montille is always a fascinating experience because his use of whole clusters varies so widely from cuvee to cuvee, if not vintage to vintage. Some wines are totally destemmed and obviously made to offer easy, early drinkability, while others are two-thirds or even 100% vendange entier and built for extended aging. And as he uses very little new oak for most of his Cote de Beaune offerings, the differences provided by vinification with the stems can be all the more pronounced. De Montille himself is remarkably willing to admit when he thinks his choices worked well and when they didn't. All the wines noted in my coverage this year, with the exception of the Corton Clos du Roi and the two cuvees of Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, had been racked in September and were on their fine lees in tank at the time of my visit. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille began harvesting on September 5 in 2009 in order to maintain as much freshness as possible. Natural alcohols came in between 12.7% and 13.2% slightly higher than the range de Montille prefers. My sense is that some of the entry-level 2009s could have used a touch more density, but the higher end wines are quite successful across the board. The 2009s were aged on their lees and were not racked until they were prepared for bottling, which began in September 2010, the first time de Montille had bottled 1er Crus before the following harvest. I tasted most of The 2009s from tank, where they were settling before bottling. De Montille did not plan to fine or filter any of the wines in tank. Readers will find additional notes on the estate's 2008s on this site.

"A sexy vintage with a lighter structure than 2005" is Etienne de Montille's capsule description of 2009. He started picking pinot early on September 7, but said he still rushed to get the fruit off the vines before the grape sugars rose. In the end they were in the very reasonable 12.5% to 13% range, and the wines at 13% were not chaptalized. Almost no triage was necessary in 2009, he added. De Montille told me he's bottling the '09s on the early side, especially his wines from the Cote de Beaune that were vinified without stems (some of these were already in bottle in November), which finished their malos earlier: "The texture of some of the wines is fragile and we can't take the risk of tiring the wines during elevage." He planned to rack his last cuvees by December. De Montille vinifies with a high percentage of whole clusters, especially in his top cuvees. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA) Also recommended: Cote de Nuits Saint-Julienne (86).

Etienne de Montille described the 2008 reds as "not the best vintage of the century. On September 1, the grapes weren't ripe and there was rot everywhere." His team cut off the affected berries, pulled leaves and then kept their fingers crossed for better weather. In the end, grape sugars were in the 12.3% to 13.4% range and de Montille vinified most of his top cuvees entirely with whole clusters. He racked the wines after the 2009 harvest because he wasn't wild for the quality of the lees and felt that the wines needed to breathe. In November, he was still not convinced that these wines had the backbone to be true vins de garde, and he did not think they would close down in the bottle. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille described the 2008 reds as "not the best vintage of the century. On September 1, the grapes weren't ripe and there was rot everywhere." His team cut off the affected berries, pulled leaves and then kept their fingers crossed for better weather. In the end, grape sugars were in the 12.3% to 13.4% range and de Montille vinified most of his top cuvees entirely with whole clusters. He racked the wines after the 2009 harvest because he wasn't wild for the quality of the lees and felt that the wines needed to breathe. In November, he was still not convinced that these wines had the backbone to be true vins de garde, and he did not think they would close down in the bottle. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille is one of a minority of winemakers I visit each fall who make extensive use of the stems during vinification. More importantly, though, he does this with skill: the stems contribute an additional aromatic dimension and add structure to his wines without dominating them or hardening their finishes. Montille describes 2007 as much more successful than 2006 and generally vinified his various cuvees with at least 50% whole clusters, as he felt more confident about the quality of the grapes and the stems in 2007. (He eliminated 10% to 15% rotten grapes in '06, '07 and '08 but noted that the rot was inside the grapes in '06 and thus harder to spot.) In fact, he told me he thought the '07s have more stuffing than the '02s. He began picking pinot on the Cote de Beaune on August 29, then stopped for four days before attacking his Cote de Nuits vineyards on September 6. The fruit was lower in alcohol but higher in acidity than in 2006, yet still shows more phenolic ripeness than '06, he told me. "The challenge in 2007 was not to pick too early," he said. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille is one of a minority of winemakers I visit each fall who make extensive use of the stems during vinification. More importantly, though, he does this with skill: the stems contribute an additional aromatic dimension and add structure to his wines without dominating them or hardening their finishes. Montille describes 2007 as much more successful than 2006 and generally vinified his various cuvees with at least 50% whole clusters, as he felt more confident about the quality of the grapes and the stems in 2007. (He eliminated 10% to 15% rotten grapes in '06, '07 and '08 but noted that the rot was inside the grapes in '06 and thus harder to spot.) In fact, he told me he thought the '07s have more stuffing than the '02s. He began picking pinot on the Cote de Beaune on August 29, then stopped for four days before attacking his Cote de Nuits vineyards on September 6. The fruit was lower in alcohol but higher in acidity than in 2006, yet still shows more phenolic ripeness than '06, he told me. "The challenge in 2007 was not to pick too early," he said. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille was not the only winemaker I visited in November to describe a difference in structure between the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits in 2006. He opted for a soft extraction, as he was not completely confident about the quality of the raw material and preferred to make fruity, appealing, light-bodied wines rather than ones that might be astringent, bitter or unclean. He began harvesting on the Cote de Beaune on the day of the ban, with potential alcohols in the high 13.2% to 13.8% range, eliminating up to 15% of rotten grapes in the vines and on the sorting table. (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

With its share of the Domaine Thomas-Moillard purchase, Domaine de Montille has vastly expanded its portfolio of offerings and planted a flag on the Cote de Nuits. It now owns some Clos Vougeot and a major parcel of Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, including a small enclave within what appears to be La Tache on the vineyard map of Burgundy but which was never actually classified as La Tache. Etienne de Montille, who destemmed much of his fruit in 2004 due to hail, vinified most of his wines in 2005 with whole clusters. "I started here in 1983 and it's the most perfect fruit I've ever seen," he told me in November. "If you couldn't vinify with stems this year, then when?" While long-time admirers of this domain may need to acclimate themselves to wines made via vendange entier, the results speak for themselves, and this vintage is likely to be long-lived. Two thousand four is markedly different. "This vintage is atypical of Montille," said Etienne. "They're wines that will be pleasurable to drink early, so take advantage of that." (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

With its share of the Domaine Thomas-Moillard purchase, Domaine de Montille has vastly expanded its portfolio of offerings and planted a flag on the Cote de Nuits. It now owns some Clos Vougeot and a major parcel of Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts, including a small enclave within what appears to be La Tache on the vineyard map of Burgundy but which was never actually classified as La Tache. Etienne de Montille, who destemmed much of his fruit in 2004 due to hail, vinified most of his wines in 2005 with whole clusters. "I started here in 1983 and it's the most perfect fruit I've ever seen," he told me in November. "If you couldn't vinify with stems this year, then when?" While long-time admirers of this domain may need to acclimate themselves to wines made via vendange entier, the results speak for themselves, and this vintage is likely to be long-lived. Two thousand four is markedly different. "This vintage is atypical of Montille," said Etienne. "They're wines that will be pleasurable to drink early, so take advantage of that." (Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Veritas, Beverly Hills, CA)

Etienne de Montille was one of several winemakers on the Cote de Beaune who were still mystified by the effects of the late August hail storm in 2004. "The effect of the hail was different in '04 than in '01," he said. "In 2001 it delayed the ripening process, and the vineyards never caught up. But it was the opposite in 2004:it accelerated and concentrated the ripeness. We actually had higher sugars in 2004 than in 2003. For the moment at least, we don't have an answer to the question of why the hail had this kind of effect. "I tasted a few of the young 2004s from cuve, as the wines that finished their malos by March were racked in October and moved to stainless steel to preserve freshness of fruit. "The racking has brought finesse and precision to the wines," said Montille, who destemmed all of his fruit from vineyards affected by hail (the Volnays and the Pommard Rugiens) and did a gentle extraction. Montille's 2003s boast outstanding volume and mouthfilling texture without heaviness.

Etienne de Montille was one of several winemakers on the Cote de Beaune who were still mystified by the effects of the late August hail storm in 2004. "The effect of the hail was different in '04 than in '01," he said. "In 2001 it delayed the ripening process, and the vineyards never caught up. But it was the opposite in 2004:it accelerated and concentrated the ripeness. We actually had higher sugars in 2004 than in 2003. For the moment at least, we don't have an answer to the question of why the hail had this kind of effect. "I tasted a few of the young 2004s from cuve, as the wines that finished their malos by March were racked in October and moved to stainless steel to preserve freshness of fruit. "The racking has brought finesse and precision to the wines," said Montille, who destemmed all of his fruit from vineyards affected by hail (the Volnays and the Pommard Rugiens) and did a gentle extraction. Montille's 2003s boast outstanding volume and mouthfilling texture without heaviness.

Etienne de Montille started the 2003 harvest on August 22 with the family's Volnay vineyards, eliminating a lot of dried berries.The grapes were so hot that the juice was running out, so he quickly decided to bring refrigerated trucks into the vineyards to cool down the fruit.The refrigeration kept the grapes fresh, and allowed Montille to vinify with a high percentage of whole clusters, which did not generally begin to ferment for four or five days and which also slowed the pace of the fermentation.Montille cut the percentage of new oak to just 10% to 20%.The malolactics mostly finished between June and September, and virtually everything in the cellar had been sulfured the week prior to my visit.For each sample, Montille made a blend from a selection of different barrels.These 2003s are big, rich, very ripe wines with alcohol levels between 13.5% and 14%.They are not your father's Volnays-or Etienne's father's.

Etienne de Montille started the 2003 harvest on August 22 with the family's Volnay vineyards, eliminating a lot of dried berries.The grapes were so hot that the juice was running out, so he quickly decided to bring refrigerated trucks into the vineyards to cool down the fruit.The refrigeration kept the grapes fresh, and allowed Montille to vinify with a high percentage of whole clusters, which did not generally begin to ferment for four or five days and which also slowed the pace of the fermentation.Montille cut the percentage of new oak to just 10% to 20%.The malolactics mostly finished between June and September, and virtually everything in the cellar had been sulfured the week prior to my visit.For each sample, Montille made a blend from a selection of different barrels.These 2003s are big, rich, very ripe wines with alcohol levels between 13.5% and 14%.They are not your father's Volnays-or Etienne's father's.

Etienne de Montille began our tasting with a few samples pulled from cuve in a cellar in Beaune.These wines were solid if unspectacular, and may have been suffering from the racking and sulfuring a month prior to my visit.But then we went into the family's barrel cellar in Volnay and I tasted some of the most spectacular Cote du Beaunes of the vintage-wines whose energy and grip in fact promise to transcend the vintage.The wines are distinctly higher in alcohol than the classic wines of this domain 20 years ago, but that just reflects an evolution of technique here. We look for aromatic purity, finesse and aging potential," Etienne told me. At the same time, we're trying to get rid of unnecessary austerity.We don't need to have consumers suffer for the first ten years of a wine's life.And we can't apply a vin de garde approach to every vintage."(Martin-Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Chicago Brands, Chicago, IL; also represented by Europvin/Christopher Cannan Selections)

Etienne de Montille began our tasting with a few samples pulled from cuve in a cellar in Beaune.These wines were solid if unspectacular, and may have been suffering from the racking and sulfuring a month prior to my visit.But then we went into the family's barrel cellar in Volnay and I tasted some of the most spectacular Cote du Beaunes of the vintage-wines whose energy and grip in fact promise to transcend the vintage.The wines are distinctly higher in alcohol than the classic wines of this domain 20 years ago, but that just reflects an evolution of technique here. We look for aromatic purity, finesse and aging potential," Etienne told me. At the same time, we're trying to get rid of unnecessary austerity.We don't need to have consumers suffer for the first ten years of a wine's life.And we can't apply a vin de garde approach to every vintage."(Martin-Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; Chicago Brands, Chicago, IL; also represented by Europvin/Christopher Cannan Selections)

Etienne de Montille was forthright about the difficulties on the Cote de Beaune in 2000. "We had the worst of the weather all summer long, not just in September," he admitted. "We started harvesting on Saturday the 16th, with more problems with dilution than rot. But rot in 2000 was hard to detect, as it was inside the grapes rather than merely on the skins. Luckily, we had purchased a new sorting table prior to the harvest, and we eliminated 25% of our grapes." With most of the affected fruit discarded, the domain was able to ferment with a higher percentage of whole berries. De Montille did a shorter fermentation, with minimal chaptalization (the wines are now only about 12.2% alcohol). He did less punching down of the cap than normal in an attempt "to retain fruit and ripe tannins." Still, this will not be a strong vintage for this property. The de Montille '99s, on the other hand, are sensational: Etienne describes the vintage as "the best for us since 1959 in terms of elegance and completeness."

Etienne de Montille was forthright about the difficulties on the Cote de Beaune in 2000. "We had the worst of the weather all summer long, not just in September," he admitted. "We started harvesting on Saturday the 16th, with more problems with dilution than rot. But rot in 2000 was hard to detect, as it was inside the grapes rather than merely on the skins. Luckily, we had purchased a new sorting table prior to the harvest, and we eliminated 25% of our grapes." With most of the affected fruit discarded, the domain was able to ferment with a higher percentage of whole berries. De Montille did a shorter fermentation, with minimal chaptalization (the wines are now only about 12.2% alcohol). He did less punching down of the cap than normal in an attempt "to retain fruit and ripe tannins." Still, this will not be a strong vintage for this property. The de Montille '99s, on the other hand, are sensational: Etienne describes the vintage as "the best for us since 1959 in terms of elegance and completeness."

If one domain has benefitted from the recent string of warm growing seasons, it the Domaine de Montille, which has traditionally been averse to adding sugar to its musts, even at the risk of bottling wines with alcohol in the low 12.0% to 12.5% range. (In the past, this has frequently made these wines appear lean and austere in early tastings next to beefier examples of Burgundy, but more often than not it was the de Montille wines that impressed with their purity and flavor intensity 12 to 20 years later while the oversugared wines had collapsed.) In the last few warm vintages, grape sugars have been high and chaptalization has been minimal or totally unnecessary. Etienne de Montille, who is now in charge of winemaking, told me he occasionally chaptalizes barely 0.2%, "just to allow for evaporation of alcohol." At his spacious new aging facility in Beaune, the wines are racked only when needed, and a relatively low percentage of new wood (typically around 20%) is used for the crus. Bottling takes place on the late side (between May and August of 2000 for the '98 crus). On my November visit, both the '99s and '98s showed spectacularly.

If one domain has benefitted from the recent string of warm growing seasons, it the Domaine de Montille, which has traditionally been averse to adding sugar to its musts, even at the risk of bottling wines with alcohol in the low 12.0% to 12.5% range. (In the past, this has frequently made these wines appear lean and austere in early tastings next to beefier examples of Burgundy, but more often than not it was the de Montille wines that impressed with their purity and flavor intensity 12 to 20 years later while the oversugared wines had collapsed.) In the last few warm vintages, grape sugars have been high and chaptalization has been minimal or totally unnecessary. Etienne de Montille, who is now in charge of winemaking, told me he occasionally chaptalizes barely 0.2%, "just to allow for evaporation of alcohol." At his spacious new aging facility in Beaune, the wines are racked only when needed, and a relatively low percentage of new wood (typically around 20%) is used for the crus. Bottling takes place on the late side (between May and August of 2000 for the '98 crus). On my November visit, both the '99s and '98s showed spectacularly.

Hubert de Montille is loath to chaptalize, and bottled wines from this domain are often in the relatively low 12% to 12.5% range. As a result, these Burgundies rarely stand out in early tastings but have a track record for long, graceful evolution in bottle. This estate especially benefitted from the thorough ripeness of the fruit in '96 and '97. There was no chaptalization in '96, '97 or '98, said Madame de Montille, and the fruit was so ripe in '97 that a bit of acidification was needed at the outset in a few cuvees These '97s, a few of which are from fruit with potential alcohol approaching 13%, will offer early accessibility, while the more powerful '96s, following a late bottling last September, are currently dominated by their structures and will be much slower to open. Both vintages offer lovely purity of pinot flavor.

Hubert de Montille is loath to chaptalize, and bottled wines from this domain are often in the relatively low 12% to 12.5% range. As a result, these Burgundies rarely stand out in early tastings but have a track record for long, graceful evolution in bottle. This estate especially benefitted from the thorough ripeness of the fruit in '96 and '97. There was no chaptalization in '96, '97 or '98, said Madame de Montille, and the fruit was so ripe in '97 that a bit of acidification was needed at the outset in a few cuvees These '97s, a few of which are from fruit with potential alcohol approaching 13%, will offer early accessibility, while the more powerful '96s, following a late bottling last September, are currently dominated by their structures and will be much slower to open. Both vintages offer lovely purity of pinot flavor.