Historical

Prosper de Montille owned significant vineyard holdings in the Côte de Nuits in the early 19th century but, sadly for his descendants, these were subsequently sold off. All that Hubert de Montille inherited in 1947 was three hectares comprising Volnay Carelles, Taillepieds and Champans, along with some Pommard Rugiens. He built this up steadily, assisted by son Etienne from 1983 to 1989, then assisting Etienne from 1990, finally leaving him in sole charge from 1995. Just as Hubert’s day job had been as a distinguished lawyer in Dijon, so Etienne continued to work in Paris until 2001 when he returned full-time to Burgundy – though not solely at the family domaine, as he also took charge of the Château de Puligny-Montrachet, which he bought, in 2012. There is also a small négociant operation, Maison de Montille, initially known as Deux Montille when Etienne’s sister Alix was involved,

Viticulture & Vinification

You cannot always get hold of Etienne de Montille because he may be off looking at his new projects in the Santa Rita Hills or Hokkaido, but his very thoughtful Californian winemaker/technical director Brian Sieve is usually on hand to give a dispassionate view of the wines back on Terra Firma Burgundia. Though he can also be quite passionate when it comes to the details of viticulture and wine-making. There has been both change and continuity in comparison to Hubert de Montille’s time. Hubert used to chaptalise (only up to 12 per cent), whereas grapes are riper now so that issue no longer applies. The preference is for whole bunch vinification, as long as the vines are mature.

Vineyards

The classic red vineyards of the Domaine are Volnay Champans and Taillepieds along with Pommard Pézerolles and Rugiens. These are great terroirs, with typically a good proportion of old vines, and they lend themselves to the style of de Montille vinification. We should not lose sight of them in the dazzle of some of the grand appellations which have arrived since. In 2005, Etienne de Montille co-purchased, with Domaine Dujac, significant vineyards from Domaine Thomas, bringing three Côte de Nuits appellations, most notably Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts. From the first vintage, Etienne took the bold decision to split it into two parts, vinifying and bottling them separately. My instincts were against this move, but I have to admit that the ‘regular’ Malconsorts and the Cuvée Christiane, named for his mother, are sufficiently different each year to justify the decision. The latter, from vines just below La Tâche, is notably more luxuriant.

The domaine is better known for its red wines, but the whites have been singing a clear and beautiful song for quite a while now. First to arrive was the block of Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets bought from Domaine Chartron in 1993, to my mind frequently the best rendition of this vineyard. Then came some Beaune Aigrots and Corton-Charlemagne (2004) followed by the Château de Puligny-Montrachet holdings, some of which were annexed in 2012, the rest following in 2017.