Description
Jean-Marc Pillot, Montagny Premier Cru “Les Gouresses”
It’s no longer possible to ignore: Jean-Marc Pillot is one of the most consistently brilliant, high-in-demand producers of classic white Burgundy. For years, we preached that Pillot never misses the mark, and those constant bullseyes have finally caught up with the broader market: Nearly all of his Premier Crus now live in the $100-$150 sphere. But “nearly” is the operative word here because today’s staggering rarity and insider steal doesn’t come remotely close to those prices!
This $58 white Burgundy supernova hails from 110-year-old vines in a top Montagny Premier Cru, and Pillot crafted just 100 cases in 2019. Fifty of them were confined to Europe, 50 were quietly ushered into America, and less than half were seized by us. Furthermore, “Les Gouresses” delivered jaw-dropping opulence and miraculous verve in 2019, promising to cause disorder amongst any premium lineup of $100+ Chassagnes and Pulignys. In short, we love this wine, our customers are guaranteed to love this wine, and our only challenge is summoning the willpower to sell our meager allocation instead of shuttling it into our own cellars. If the previous vintage’s sales are any indication of what’s to come, I suggest you snatch up six bottles in haste!
An acclaimed producer best-known for Chassagne-Montrachet, Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth consecutive generation of his family to be involved in winemaking. He began apprenticing directly beneath his father, Jean, in 1985. By 1991, he had assumed leadership of the family property, though he was assisted in numerous regards by his wife, Nadine, and sister, Beatrice. Pillot owns, farms, and/or buys fruit from a dizzying diversity of vineyards in the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, like today’s Montagny Premier Cru “Les Gouresses.” Jean-Marc purchases this fruit through a close friend, but only from a tiny parcel that contains extremely old vines of 110 years. Very little of this rare bottling makes it to the US in any given vintage.
After a meticulous hand harvest, Pillot gently presses this special Chardonnay with clusters intact, then spontaneously ferments the pristine juice in neutral 228-liter Burgundy barrels. It then ages 15 months on its fine lees. Following, the wine is racked into stainless steel tanks to rest and “tighten up” for an additional six months. This patient, time-consuming approach means Pillot does not need to filter or cold-stabilize his whites, plus they are bottled unfiltered, so they always retain a certain vividness and dimension that is missing from many higher-priced Côte de Beaune bottlings.
Ancient Premier Cru vines and Pillot’s comprehensive mastery of traditional Burgundy always yield a jaw-dropping wine that’s both deeply concentrated and precision-cut at the same time. This is crystalline, tension-loaded, downright luscious Chardonnay.
