Description
Jean-Marc Pillot, Montagny 1er Cru “Les Gouresses”
Why can’t you find any Jean-Marc Pillot in our store right now? Because he’s one of the most consistently brilliant, high-in-demand producers of classic white Burgundy. As we’ve learned over the years, Pillot doesn’t miss the mark, ever, and those steady bullseyes have finally caught up with the broader market: Nearly all of his 2018 Premier Crus are hovering at or above the $100 mark—but today’s isn’t even close, which makes it one of the greatest insider steals of the year.
Clearly, we no longer need to “sell” our subscribers on these perfectly taut and chiseled Chardonnays, but I feel the need to shout this one from Everest’s summit: Today’s rare Burgundy supernova hails from 110-year-old vines in a top Montagny Premier Cru, and Pillot managed to produce just four barrels in 2018. Two of them stayed in Europe, two came to America, and the equivalent of half of one was wrenched away by us. If you’ve always wondered about the allure of Burgundy’s insanely priced real-estate, Jean-Marc Pillot’s “Les Gouresses” will paint a vivid Monet landscape. What’s more, it’s bound to bolster your premium white Burgundy collection and become the Cinderella story if blinded alongside a blue-blooded line-up of $100+ Chassagne- and Puligny-Montrachet. So, to summarize: 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.
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 harvesting, Pillot gently presses this special Chardonnay whole cluster and spontaneously ferments the pristine juice in neutral 228-liter Burgundian 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 yields a jaw-dropping white that’s both deeply concentrated and precision-cut at the same time. Today’s 2018 is a crystalline, tension-loaded, downright luscious Burgundy Chardonnay—and you simply cannot ask for better price-to-quality in a Premier Cru. Given the generosity of the vintage, it needs just 20-30 minutes in a decanter before service in Burgundy stems. It opens up with bright, high-toned honeysuckle lees, and white flowers, followed by citrus curd, mashed yellow apple, pear, and yellow peach on a finely crushed bed of white stone, spice, and struck flint. Rich and filling yet incredibly laser-like in its approach, this has Puligny tension and Meursault depth with an added touch of ripeness to its gorgeous yellow-white fruit. It’s to be enjoyed now and over the next 5-7 years, although I strongly suspect none of your bottles will survive through 2022. Cheers!
