2017 Domaine Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets, Burgundy

“Domaine Paul Pillot is one of those producers making whites with a real gleam, a luminous clarity. I taste hundreds of wines in Burgundy week, and have to scramble through my notes to check in with my views on many of them, but with Domaine Paul Pillot I remember where the table was in the room, and where I was standing as the wine hit my tastebuds.” 

“Characterful, elegantly textural and mouthwateringly incisive, these are superb white Burgundies, and to my mind, Pillot is one of a handful of exciting producers who win Chassagne-Montrachet the title of Burgundy's most interesting white wine producing village today. That he stills flies somewhat under the radar—at least relative to the quality to be found here—is perplexing. What's more, that's bound to change, and sooner rather than later, so readers shouldn't hesitate to buy whatever bottles they can find.” 

The Pillots cultivate four small parcels totalling 0.49 hectares (on very rocky soils) in this famous site. It is a vineyard that sits 250-280 metres above sea level to the south of the village. Winemaking follows the same line as all the other 1er Crus, and only 10% new oak was used this year. The vines here average 55 years and, as you would expect of such a stony vineyard (caillou is an old French word for stone), intense minerality and depth are both features of this striking wine. It has power and an intense, chalky, earthy minerality that is rare amongst 1er Cru whites. Expect a layered, fleshy wine with mixed stone fruit and kernel notes and a long, rocky close. Outstanding indeed.