drinking wayyyyy above its appellation, this bottle has a complex nose of fruits and sous void that are echoed in the layered dense palate of cherry, red and blue fruits, all very satiny on palate with balance, elegance, and length. There are soft round tannins and the wine will improve but drinks so well tonight. Superb.
I think I’ve said this before, but still drinking the remainder of my 1995. I suspect the 2010 will age fairly well.
I love the '12, which is the first vintage I purchased. Wish I’d learned about this wine years ago.
I’ve got some 89…that now seems more intriguing!
The blancs are worthy as well…our drink of choice last time in Hawaii!
I really enjoy this wine, finished up '02 a few years ago and currently drinking '05. As it inched up past $40 I’ve bought less and less, have maybe half a case of the '10. (Got a case of improbably cheap '09 on winebid that I haven’t tried yet, hope it’s almost as good!) The fact that you could get so much enjoyment from mid-term aging “basic” Burgundy like this was an eye opener to me many years ago with the '88.
Always excellent. This is from the northern most portion of the Cote Chalonnaise (Bouzeron). Very close to Chassagne Montrachet. Bouzeron abuts the town of Chagny on the northeast. Like an extension of the Cote de Beaune.
Better than many(most) Bourgognes from the Cote d’Or.
The quality on this particular hillside is exceptional. Great note Alan. Many thanks.
Buzz,
The blancs are 100% aligote. I think that is the only allowed grape in Bouzeron. Let us know what you think. I have never had one.
I’ve had several of the aligotes and they are excellent. Lots of minerality.
We had a closeout up here on the 2009’s a few years ago. Several people noted cork leakage, but taint never seemed an issue. Not trusting how they were going to behave, I like most drank them sooner that later. Not sure if it was shipper issues or what.
Thanks Alan, a great value wine.
Don, the Bouzeron is indeed Aligote but they also make a couple of Cote Challonaise Bourgogne Blancs and Rully Blancs that are terrific.
Best Regards
Jeremy
thanks, all, for the information–found a b of 2010 La Fortune also. I assume that rocks also.
La Fortune and Clous are much younger vines, hadn’t been planted when I started drinking this stuff, so I’ve focused on Digoine, Domaine de Villaine | Our Wines | Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. The few times I’ve had Mercurey Montots I’ve enjoyed it. It’s a (relatively) fuller, darker wine though, and I kinda prefer the somewhat ethereal elegance of the Digoine.
Thanks Ron, will check those '09s of mine, they are still boxed up, but they were pristine when they arrived. Since there were many cases of KLWM wines being sold at fire-sale prices, I had guessed that a distributor or large retailer hadn’t survived the financial crisis.
What appellation is drinking like?
I’ve long wondered whether if these wines were made by Maison Josephe Blough…anyone would take note of them.
Not much experience with them…so I can’t opine…just curious since they get talked about a lot given their appellations…
The St. Jacques (Rully) and Clous (Chalonnaise) are both very good; St. Jacques is for relatively early drinking, with Clous meant for medium-term ageing.
I see two relatively new crus on the website now, as well: Clous Aimée (Chalonnaise) and Grésigny (Rully, 80-year old vines).
De Villaine has a good website, with compentent info on terroir, vine age, pairings, and cellaring times. I think Wine Terroirs has a decent blog entry on the Domaine, as well.
I bought a parcel of 09 Montots, after opening one bottle and drinking it over a period of, like, five days. It’s a serious wine, a step up from the Digoine, imho, and De Villaine’s website says it can develop in the cellar for 15 to 20 years. I won’t get into mine for a few years yet.
Considering their cost, these wines have to be compared to village or even 1er crus if you want to size up the value proposition. At near $40, in today’s US market, they are priced reasonably for their quality, though not the bargain they once were.
Stuart
You should give these a go. The appellation is Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise. You could easily confuse this with a good village wine from another area. Even better than some people’s premier crus.
I’ve had them many times over the last 30+ years, Don. I don’t dislike them…and have enjoyed some of the whites quite a bit.
But, Kermit Lynch or Martine made them very pricey for what they are…which is good challonnaise wine. So, I wonder if it’s the wines…or their producer that makes them more special than other chalonnaise wines…and warrant such a premium in price…
I’ve enjoyed many chalonnaise wines over the years…and think of most of them as decent values when well priced. But, I’ve wondered with these whether the interest is from the wine or the makers.
This is a genuine question…and you’ve offered your opinion. So, thanks.
I had the 05 St Jacques along with a number of other 05’s in Dec 15. It was the only wine of four entry WB’s not to be oxidised, it was great. The Montots is always very good and ages well, I need to look at the Digoine, I buy the Montots which is reviewed well. There is no doubt a DRC influence resulting in the purity or the wines, i doubt there is better value for your dollar, in NZ anyway…
I’d guess that a few people buy the wines because of the name, sort of as “Mini-DRCs”, which is obviously doomed to fail as it is equally doomed to fail to buy Lafon Mâcons as replacement for the Meursaults or the Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé as replacment for their Pulignys. That being said, I concur with the majority opinion here that the de Villaine wines are exceptionally well made and offer great value at their modest price tag. Looking at Wine-Searcher.com, I see that the wines are almost double as expensive as in Germany and at that price tag, the value for money can be questioned. But at around 20 Euros per bottle for most wines, I don’t have to think twice. For me, wines like the Mercurey Les Montots (my favorite in their line up, year in year out) and the two red Bourgognes or the Rully Les St. Jacques in white are so good that it’s not easy to find equals at that price point in Burgundy.
Here’s a note from a few weeks ago on the 2010 Les Montots. Always a favorite of mine for the price (I think it was about $35-$40)
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2010 A. et P. de Villaine Mercurey Les Montots - France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey (1/7/2016)
This is really in a beautiful spot with a little time to breathe in the glass. I’m presently consuming the last half of the bottle that was opened last night. I loved it last night, but it was still a little tight. Right now, I couldn’t be happier. Light bodied, high tones red fruits, a silky mouth-feel with just a hint of green-ness on the palate and nose. A great bottle to consume while you’re waiting for your village level wines to get ready. I’d assume this will probably be at peak in 2-3 years but could drink well for another 6-8+ years with good storage. A value to be had if you’re a Burgundy lover. Excellent!!
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