2022 Domaine Paul Pillot, Chassagne-Montrachet, Côte de Beaune, White Burgundy, France.
The pristine and crystalline 2022 Chassagne-Montrchet from Thierry Pillot at Domaine Paul Pillot is a beautifully put together white Burgundy with some youthful reduction to start, but has a vinous, dense and rewarding full bodied palate of crisp apple, Bosc pear, lemon, golden fig, peach and subtle tropical fruit that folds together nicely with leesy toast, clove spice, hazelnut, wet stone and delicate white florals. There’s an underlying lift and energy, just the right kind of tension, that balances the textural richness in this vintage and the mineral tones make this unmistakable as a top white Burgundy in the glass and the wine speaks clearly of place. For his whites, this Bourgogne Blanc included, Pillot employs a minimalistic approach, preferring native yeast fermentation(s) and aging in larger format 350L barrels with up to 10% new oak. The wine ferments naturally in barrel and sees lees aging of about 12 months without much if any stirring, after which the wine blended, then is rested/settled in stainless steel tank for a further 6 months before bottling. Coming from organic 55 year old vines on chalky limestone, this Chassagne is a cuvée of three prime Lieu dits, Les Chaumes, Le Concis du Champs and Les Plantes Morniere.
As I’ve noted before in my prior reviews, the Domaine Paul Pillot, which was founded in 1900 by a local barrel maker, Jean-Baptiste Pillot, who decided he wanted to spend more time and effort growing grapes and tending vines in the Côte de Beaune, with a few holdings in the village of Chassagne-Montrachet, which later expanded significantly when his sons Alphonse and Henri took over following WWI. At that time the estate began to produce their own wines and sell them them, but the real step up came when Henri’s son Paul became the manager of the Domaine, and he bought up prime parcels in Chassagne, that form the core of the best wines in the lineup, and in Saint-Aubin, mostly in Premier Cru Vineyards and mainly Chardonnay, putting this label on the map. Now, as mentioned, Paul’s son Thierry, who joined his father in 1999, runs the property and has made the wines here since 2004, which has lifted this winery to the next level, with more focus being put into the vines and by converting them to sustainable and organic farming. In recent years. Again, as mentioned before, these Pillot wines are right up there with the best of the Côte de Beaune producers, with a modern clarity and steely nature. I’ve become really excited by the wines here at Paul Pillot and while I can’t always get a full range or afford too many, I do grab their Bourgogne Blanc, which punches well above its humble labeling and price point.
($165 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive