Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Montagny “Les Bassets”
About the wine:
• Appellation: AOC Montagny
• Varietals: Chardonnay (100%)
• Average Alcohol by Volume: 12%
In The Vineyard:
• Parcel Names, Slopes, and Locations: Purchased fruit from a small parcel in the lieu-dit Les Bassets in the Montagny appellation of the Côte Chalonnaise
• Soil Types and Compositions: Limestone-clay
• Vine Age, Training, and Density: Trained in Guyot and planted at 10,000 vines/ha, average age 20 years old
• Average Yields: 40 hl/ha
• Average Harvest Date and Type: Manual, mid September
In The Cellar:
• Fermentation: Spontaneous, in stainless-steel tanks
• Pressing: Pneumatic, whole-cluster direct pressing
• Time on Lees: 12 months
• Malolactic Fermentation: Spontaneous, in tank in the spring
• Élevage: One year in stainless-steel tanks
• Press Wine: Blended after pressing
• Fining and Filtration: Bentonite/casein fining, unfiltered
• Sulfur: Applied after malolactic and at bottling; 80-90 mg/l total sulfur; c. 25 mg/l free sulfur
In The Glass:
Pillot has a friend in Montagny 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 village side. The wine displays the racy acidity and blatantly chalky, almost Chablis-like character of Montagny at its best, but with a satisfying mid-palate richness.
About the producer:
Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth generation of his branch of the Pillot family to tend vineyards in Chassagne Montrachet. He joined his father, Jean, in 1985 to learn the craft of “vigneron”. After six years of working side-by-side, Jean-Marc assumed the direction of the domaine in 1991 with the assistance of his wife, Nadine, and his sister, Beatrice. Of course, his father, Jean, remains by his side rendering advice and valuable assistance in the vineyards (often while he is tending the garden in back of the chai!). Jean-Marc has instituted several changes at the estate, the most prominent of which is the construction of a new cave. Of equal importance, Jean-Marc expanded the amount of vineyards under cultivation and has made subtle modifications in vinification and elevage to place his own “mark” on this estate which now covers approximately fifteen hectares with an annual production of, more or less, 60,000 bottles.