“The winemaking is conservative, in the best sense of the word: low harvests, retaining some of the stems, and maceration for 2 to 3 weeks or more. The wines are full, rich and sturdy… Coupled with a greater attention to triage than hitherto, this has led to an immediate rise in quality. This is a future star, I believe.”
— Clive Coates, MW
“The Millot ’09s are consistent with the style here, which is to say lighter but wonderfully pure, precise and elegant wines that pack plenty of flavor authority into a lighter weight package.”
— Allen Meadows BURGHOUND
Which is it? I like the sound of the Burghound description, but its almost the opposite of the Coates.
I visited Jean Marc Millot in Nuits-St.-George about a year and half ago and tasted through the '06s and a few of the '07s… I would lean much more towards Allen Meadow’s description than Clive Coates…
The wines are worth trying for sure, especially if the pricing is favorable.
What a timely thread, I just purchased a bottle of the 2005 JMM Clos Vouget GC, would it be a complete waste to open this anytime soon? I only have the single bottle. Thanks in advance.
I’m not familiar with the domaine, but Burghound’s producer description includes this tantalizing tidbit… “Comparisons to the wines of Domaine Francois Bertheau would not be out of line.” That gets my attention. Wines in the airy, weightless style such as Bertheau rarely get Allen’s best ratings, but that is where I back up the truck.
OTOH, it is my impression that Coates likes his Burgs on the bigger, bolder, heavily-structured end of the scale. Someone is wrong here, it would seem.
We tasted through his lineup when we were in Burgundy for the 2009 HdBeaune. I think Meadows is on the mark. Problem for me is the pricing, which is understandable given the small quantities produced of the GCs, but still cools my hand.
That’s why I like the Aux Faulques so much. You get a good picture of the style of the house around the $30 mark, which ain’t bad.
Friends,
I do not agree with BURGHOUND. MILLOT’s wines are more concentrated than Berthault’s. I think their wines are top notch. With daughter Alix now at the helm I certainly expect a lot from this Nuits based domaine (albeit concentrated on Vosne wines). Suchots, Clos Vougeot Grand Maupertui (only the 2011 was a bit disappointing), ECHEZEAUX and GRANDS ECHEZEAUX are the ones to be looking for. Pure wines bursting with finesse. Reasonable prices too.
SINCERELY JOHAN
One of the hidden gems of CdN. Style is destemmed, gentler hand, infusion vs extraction, little new oak. As Johan mentioned, they are pure wines with finesse, and they age very well. A 2000 Clos Vougeot is a candidate for WOTY for me.
These are very good wines. Meadows is much closer to the mark than Coates. They are made in a ripe but light style, if that makes sense. They have fine and plush tannins, with a lot of upfront fruit. They have a strawberries with cream vibe. I would not compare them to Bertheau. They remind me more of new style Faiveley or new style Denis Mortet. A little bit like Fourrier in the sense of being ripe, but they are creamier than Fourrier.
Bought a bunch of Echezeaux 2010 and opened 2. Nice, pure, elegant … and boring and lacking complexity but maybe because it is too young. Did not dare to open the Clos de Vougeot and will wait before trying again.