Domaine de Montille

History of Domaine de Montille

The family’s roots go back to the mid-17th century in Créancey, in the Auxois. The estate was founded in the 1730s, when the family home in Volnay was built; the winery followed around 1776. It took its current name on April 9, 1863, with the marriage of Léonce Bizouard de Montille and Marie Eléonore Chauvelot de Chevannes. The 19th century was the property’s golden age, when it held some 30 hectares of prestigious terroirs, including Musigny, Bonnes-Mares and Chambolle-Musigny premier cru Les Amoureuses. Phylloxera changed everything: the vines ceased to generate income, the finest plots were sold, and barely more than 2.5 hectares remained by the end of World War II.

In 1947, at age seventeen, Hubert de Montille took over what remained of the family inheritance. A lawyer by day and a passionate winegrower the rest of the time, he made the bold choice to bottle wine at the estate when more than 90% of Burgundy wines were sold to négociants. A tireless champion of terroir, he built a legend around age-worthy Volnays with distinctive character. Étienne joined his father in 1983, became co-manager in 1995 and began the conversion to organic farming. He then devoted himself fully to the estate in 2001 and put his stamp on its style: silkier, less austere wines that sacrificed nothing in authenticity or balance. Acquisitions followed: the Thomas Moillard vineyards in 2005, marking a return to the Côte de Nuits (Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts, Clos Vougeot, Nuits-Saint-Georges), then Château de Puligny-Montrachet in 2012, which added some fifteen hectares of Chardonnay. Étienne’s son Louis is now preparing to take the helm as the tenth generation.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine de Montille

The vineyards stretch from Vosne-Romanée in the north to Chassagne-Montrachet in the south, covering 37 hectares classified mainly as premiers and grands crus. Volnay remains the historic heart of the estate, with benchmark climats such as Les Taillepieds, Les Champans, Les Mitans and La Carelle Sous Chapelle, while Pommard contributes the power of Les Rugiens and Les Pézerolles. In the Côte de Nuits, the estate cultivates Aux Malconsorts, a plot bordering La Tâche, Clos Vougeot and climats in Nuits-Saint-Georges. For whites, its holdings include Meursault (Les Perrières, Les Porusots), Puligny-Montrachet (Les Folatières, Le Cailleret, La Garenne), Saint-Aubin En Remilly and Chassagne-Montrachet, as well as the Corton-Charlemagne and Chevalier-Montrachet grands crus.

The move toward more environmentally conscious farming began as early as 1985 with the abandonment of chemical fertilizers, followed by synthetic fungicides and insecticides in 1995. In the 2000s, Étienne de Montille converted the entire vineyard to biodynamics and became president of GEST, a group dedicated to studying and monitoring terroirs that now brings together more than a hundred winegrowers. In its day-to-day work, the estate favors shallow cultivation between vines over deep plowing, works the soil beneath the vines in spring to delay budbreak and limit frost risk, removes leaves from the north side of the rows in June, and uses horses to cultivate certain plots. Biodynamic preparations, starting with Preparation 500, are made on site, with the horns buried in the Clos du Château plot in Puligny-Montrachet.

Winemaking at Domaine de Montille

The grapes are harvested entirely by hand and sorted on a sorting table. For its reds, the estate is among the few Burgundy producers to regularly use a substantial proportion of whole clusters, determined each year for each cuvée and ranging from one-third to 100%. Here, the stems are considered an integral part of the terroir, bringing freshness and spice. The team led by cellar master Brian Sieve favors balance and elegance over power and extraction, with a measured use of new oak ranging from 5 to 45% depending on the appellation, judicious use of sulfur and constant attention to the aging period between the two fermentations.

For the whites, pressing is adjusted to the character of the vintage and the condition of the grapes. After light settling, the musts are transferred to 228- and 600-liter barrels for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The proportion of new oak ranges from 5 to 35%, averaging 15%, using Allier oak barrels with a long, light toast. Lees stirring is very limited, if used at all. After about a year of barrel aging on the lees, the wine spends four to six months in stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness and tension, before light fining and gentle filtration.

The Cuvées of Domaine de Montille

Bourgogne Pinot Noir opens the red range with bright cherry and raspberry fruit, supple tannins and the spicy freshness that is the house signature. The red Monthélie, from just next to Volnay, offers a lithe, floral, easy-drinking Pinot Noir that delivers excellent value. Pommard Les Cras brings denser, earthier substance, with black fruit and a firm but elegant tannic backbone.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Saints-Juliens combines the depth and vitality of Nuits-Saint-Georges with crisp fruit and a lovely freshness on the finish. Among the premiers crus, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Thorey is more structured and full-bodied, with black fruit, licorice and a mineral backbone that calls for aging.

In Beaune, three red premiers crus offer a study in contrasts: Beaune 1er Cru Les Sizies, supple and fragrant, with red berries and a fine texture; Beaune 1er Cru Les Perrières, stonier and tauter, marked by pronounced minerality; and Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves, the broadest and most complete of the three, with a silky texture and remarkable length.

Volnay, the estate’s birthplace, finds expression through four climats. Volnay 1er Cru La Carelle Sous Chapelle is the most approachable and distinctly Volnay in character, with attractive red fruit, plenty of juiciness, light tannins and immediate appeal. Volnay 1er Cru Les Champans offers greater depth and density, with finely wrought floral and spicy notes. Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans charms with its roundness, juicy fruit and velvety feel. Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds, a historic cuvée and the estate’s emblem in Hubert’s day, is the most vertical and refined, with limestone minerality, a tight structure and exceptional aging potential.

In Pommard, Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles embodies the appellation’s elegant side, almost reminiscent of Volnay, with supple tannins and a refined bouquet of red fruit and undergrowth. Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens, by contrast, is the village at its most powerful: iron-rich soil, dense fruit, black fruit, spices and an imposing tannic structure that demands long aging.

In the Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts is one of the estate’s jewels. This plot borders La Tâche and yields a sumptuous wine that is floral, spicy and deep, with a remarkably silky texture. The Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts "Christiane" cuvée, a tribute to Hubert’s wife, comes from the uppermost and finest part of the climat. Even more concentrated and complex, and produced in tiny quantities, it is a collector’s bottle.

Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, from the Dix Journaux climat, combines breadth, restrained power and a deep mineral backbone, with a bouquet that develops notes of spice, leather and truffle. Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, the estate’s only red grand cru from the Côte de Beaune, stands out for its noble structure, aromas of black fruit and undergrowth, and ability to age for several decades.

Among the whites, Bourgogne Chardonnay establishes the house style: aromatic purity, citrus, white flowers and a saline finish. Bourgogne blanc Le Clos du Château, from the enclosed vineyard surrounding Château de Puligny-Montrachet, is denser and more refined, with remarkable chalky tension for a regional appellation.

The white Chassagne-Montrachet emphasizes roundness and generous flavors of pear and almond, with a hint of brioche. Meursault Saint-Christophe offers a rich, buttery palate balanced by fine acidity, in a very pure Meursault style. The village Puligny-Montrachet delights with its verticality, sharply defined citrus notes and chalky minerality.

The white Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses surprises with its freshness and precision, offering notes of green apple, hazelnut and flint. The white Beaune 1er Cru Les Aigrots, rare and little-known, combines ripe fruit with salinity. Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly, situated just above Montrachet, delivers a vivid, incisive Chardonnay with notes of citrus and oyster shell and pronounced saline length.

In Meursault, Meursault 1er Cru Les Porusots combines power and refinement, with yellow fruit, toasted hazelnut and a slightly smoky finish. Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières, often considered the village’s finest climat, stands out for its stony minerality, density and masterful length, placing it close to the grands crus.

The three Puligny premiers crus form a fascinating progression: Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne, planted high on the slope, all tension and white peach; Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières, more floral and lithe, with an ethereal elegance; and Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret, bordering Montrachet, which offers depth, density and pedigree worthy of a grand cru.

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru reveals a powerful, mineral structure, with candied citrus, honey and intense salinity, as well as considerable aging potential. Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, the pinnacle of the white range, combines crystalline finesse, a silky texture and breathtaking length, with rare purity and precision.

Maison de Montille, the estate’s négociant business, run to the same exacting standards, rounds out the selection. Among the reds, Pommard 1er Cru "Pomone" offers a full-bodied, fragrant Pommard that is structured yet approachable. Among the whites, Saint-Romain showcases high-altitude freshness and citrusy tension; Rully brings the generous fruit of the Côte Chalonnaise; Montagny 1er Cru Les Coères combines substance and mineral vibrancy; Pouilly-Fuissé En Vergisson expresses the sun-ripened richness of the Mâconnais, tempered by fine acidity; and Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourchaumes displays the Kimmeridgian salinity and precision characteristic of Burgundy’s northernmost winegrowing area.