The 2015 White Wines

2015 Saint-Romain Blanc “La Perriere” $40 bottle

From this renowned vineyard in the beautiful valley of Saint-Romain, Jean-Marc produces a wine of impressive power for the appellation—Saint-Romain as rendered by a master of Chassagne- Montrachet. This 2015 displays the uncanny balance of richness and tension that characterizes the vintage chez Pillot, with well-harmonized oak framing a nose of lime zest and acacia honey, and a lively, succulent palate of impressive length. Pillot employed an elevage of 30% barrels and 70% stainless steel here—a well-judged regimen that leaves the wine neither undesirably powerful nor overly austere.

2016 Montagny “Les Bassets” $32 bottle

What, one may ask, is a grower in Chassagne-Montrachet doing all the way down in the Cote Chalonnaise? Pillot has a good friend in the appellation of Montagny—known for its mineral-dominated, almost Chablis-like white Burgundies—with some old vineyard holdings, the fruit of which he is happy to sell to Jean-Marc each year to help him round out his lineup with some accessibly priced wines of a different character. “Les Bassets” is a “split” vineyard, part of which is villages and part of which is premier cru, and this parcel is just on the villages side. Vinified and aged entirely in stainless steel, this wine—the lone 2016 in our offering—is clean, racy, and snappy, with a blasted-chalk nose leading into a low-body-fat palate of great energy.

2015 Montagny 1er Cru “Les Gouresses” $35 bottle

From his friend’s parcel of 110-year-old vines in this well-situated premier cru, Jean-Marc renders a wine of intensity and depth, aging it entirely in wood (albeit none new) in contrast with the “Bassets” above. The 2015 is appropriately weighty on the palate, its core of powerful Montagny minerality coated in a more unctuous layer of sappy fruit. The ancient vines really make themselves known in the strikingly long and palate-coating finish, and this is a wine that should amply reward a few years in bottle.

2015 Puligny-Montrachet “Les Noyers Brets” $68 bottle

Pillot works a parcel of 45-year-old vines in this lieu-dit that lies just downslope of Le Montrachet and its assorted hyphenations—the lone Puligny-Montrachet in his cellar. Often among the most elegant of his wines (as befits the appellation), this 2015 presents a very fine and detailed nose of creamy limestone and subtle pit fruits. The palate begins with a mouthful of ripe, juicy fruit, but a tidal wave of broad yet focused minerality soon forces its way in and dominates the lengthy finish, leaving a ringing, glowing impression. Oak here is a subtle whisper, showing Jean-Marc’s deft hand with seamless barrel integration.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc “Les Chaumes” $68 bottle

The beautifully situated lieu-dit “Les Chaumes” is flanked on two sides by premier crus: “Les Fairendes” immediately above it on the slope, and “La Boudriotte” just to the south. Pillot wrests a villages-level wine of considerable depth from his holdings here, and this 2015 is a powerhouse— offering an assertive, punchy nose of crunchy pear, preserved lemon, and flaky salt, with a palate of plush, succulent richness. Despite the wine’s breadth, there is an underlying thread of tension and verve, making for an utterly delicious Chassagne-Montrachet that is drinking superbly even at this youthful stage.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Les Chenevottes” $72 bottle

Jean-Marc owns a small 0.29-hectare parcel of 65-year-old vines in this premier cru, which lies at the northernmost extreme of the appellation, near the sweet spot of Saint-Aubin and within striking distance of Le Montachet itself. The cool, poised 2015 is a blast of pure stones on the nose, a laser beam of mineral intensity. A high proportion of iron in the soils of “Chenevottes” makes for an especially rigid mineral backbone, and indeed the driving, tonic-like palate is a monologue of pure stoniness. This cru makes for a particularly successful marriage with the ampleness of the ’15 vintage, and it should relax and flesh out appealingly with a few years of bottle age.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Les Macherelles” $70 bottle

“Les Macherelles” sits just to the south of “Chenevottes” above in the northern sector of Chassagne- Montrachet, just north of the village itself. Pillot’s 0.28 hectares of vines were planted in 1951, and while this wine is often one of the more straightforwardly textbook “Chassagne” crus in his lineup (perhaps non-coincidentally, it makes for a supremely satisfying red wine as well—see below), this 2015 shows impressive lift and freshness for the vintage. Salty and chalky where the “Chenevottes” is iron-driven and stony, this offers sizzling kinetic energy on the palate, its broad, orchard-fruit flavors reined in by a firm hand of acidity.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Les Vergers” $72 bottle

Jean-Marc farms half a hectare of vines planted in the late 1940s in this great cru, which sits immediately above “Chenevottes” and “Macherelles” on the slope, flanking them both. A dazzling wine, the 2016 “Vergers” leads with an exuberantly aromatic nose of lemon-lime, quinine, and salty limestone. The thickest wine in the lineup so far, it nonetheless crackles with energy on the palate, with downright sappy fruit playing tug-of-war with the finely etched acidity. A long, imposing finish of immense concentration suggests that a little bit of patience will be amply rewarded.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Morgeot – Les Fairendes” $72 bottle

“Les Fairendes” is the prime filet of the southern-Chassagne premier cru of “Morgeot,” with a poorer topsoil that facilitates a more profound mineral expression than its neighboring turf, and Pillot owns a quarter-hectare of 45-year-old-vines there. Though the textural opulence and overall weightiness of this 2015 belies its warm-vintage origins, the lingering impression is one of chalky salinity and clear- eyed drive. There is an almost oily character to the fruit here, speaking to the intense concentration of the vintage, but again the tension between richness and acidity keeps everything fresh and lively.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Les Baudines” $75 bottle

“Les Baudines” occupies a unique position within Chassagne-Montrachet, lying at the extreme south of the appellation (adjacent to Santenay) at the very highest point on the slope. Jean-Marc owns a 0.15-hectare sliver in this well-drained, less sun-soaked vineyard, and the wine he produces from here is unfailingly among his most scintillatingly mineral and racy. 2015 offers a particularly attractive take, with the natural generosity of the vintage reined in by the cru’s inherent edge of austerity. The palate is thick and dense, nearly viscous, yet corseted, and the salt-drenched finish is almost overwhelmingly intense at this youthful stage.

2015 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc 1er Cru “Les Vergers – Clos Saint Marc” $125 per btl

Jean-Marc is one of only three owners of this walled-in vineyard located in the prime spot of “Les Vergers” (see above), and his vines here are a staggering 105 years old as of 2015. Vintage after vintage, this wine stands apart in Pillot’s cellar, offering grand-cru-like density and depth, and indeed this 2015 follows suit in an explosive fashion. A spellbinding nose of quinine, fresh-ground spices, and taut yellow fruits introduces a palate of chalky enormity but phenomenal energy—a vehicle both big and fast. The firmly mineral, palate-coating finish recedes slowly and gracefully, with sneaky acidity leaving an impression of freshness after all the intensity subsides. This will definitely require time to reveal its true complexity.

The 2014 Red Wines

2014 Santenay Rouge “Les Champs Claude” $36 bottle

Pillot owns a sizable 1.4-hectare parcel of 45-year-old Pinot Noir in this Santenay lieu-dit, and this 2014 captures all the delightful exuberance of the vintage. Jean-Marc employed only remontage in order not to extract too harshly or excessively, and its elevage entirely in previously used barrels allows the gorgeous strawberry-tinged fruit to really perform well. It is fresh, vibrant, and succulent on the palate, with a wisp of sous-bois that merely adds to the overall impression of deliciousness—a friendly, eminently likable red Burgundy that mirrors the vigneron behind it.

2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge “Mes Vieilles Vignes” $40 bottle

Jean-Marc produces a remarkable red Chassagne-Montrachet from a hectare of 55-year-old vines, and the 2014 is perhaps the most outstanding example he has yet made. The nose is startlingly pure, a blast of ripe cherry with a clean mineral undertone and subtle purple-flower notes adding complexity. Juicy, mineral-streaked fruit dances on the palate, with an assertive inner-mouth perfume creating an almost tonic sensation. This is an alert, vibrant wine completely lacking in hard edges or undue weight, yet it still possesses a lovely earthy interplay that speaks clearly of its origins.

2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 1er Cru “Les Macherelles” $52 bottle

Pillot’s Pinot Noir in the 1er Cru of “Les Macherelles” was planted in 1954, and this 2014 presents a riper, more thickly fruited profile than the “Vieilles Vignes” above, yet with the irresistible lift and energy of the vintage still clearly on display. A gentle note of smoke complicates the black-cherry- dominated nose, and the palate is a flood of very slightly jammy cherries and raspberries—a blast of pure Pinot Noir pleasure as rendered by the fine and mineral-expressive soils of the northern sector of Chassagne-Montrachet. Again, Jean-Marc’s extraction is just-so, and the wine’s gentle tannic tension only serves to make it even more delicious—a cleansing rather than gripping style of tannins.

2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 1er Cru “Morgeot – Les Fairendes” $70 bottle

Pillot owns two-thirds of a hectare of Pinot Noir in “Morgeot”—again in the “Fairendes” climat—and the 2014 is the most chiseled and structured of the lineup thus far. The fruit here is larger in scale but more restrained, lacking the open-knit succulence of the “Macherelles” but compensating with an intricate interplay of spice and black pepper. More obvious tannins and far greater mineral heft serve to create a drier and more austere impression on the palate—but this is a relative impression only, as the wine still possesses the zip and purity of the 2014 vintage in spades. This will reward a few years of patience.

2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 1er Cru “Clos Saint Jean” $75 bottle

Considered by many to be the greatest terroir for red wine in the entire appellation, “Clos Saint Jean” sits high up on the slope, overlooking the village itself. Pillot owns just under half a hectare of staggeringly old Pinot Noir here—104 years old as of the 2014 vintage—and produces what is unquestionably his grandest red from this vaunted site. Neither as juicy as “Macherelles” nor as powerful as “Morgeot,” the 2014 is striking in its finesse and elegance—the perfect counter-argument to the sometimes-encountered view of Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge as a straightforward or rustic wine. The regally composed 2014 presents a seamless interweaving of buffed red fruits, clean limestone, and subtly savory tannins, gliding across the palate with leanly muscled poise and energy. A beauty like this is enough to make one rue the fact that so much Pinot Noir has been replanted to Chardonnay over the years.