Domaine Pillot, St-Aubin 1er cru, La Chatenière , Burgundy, France, 2020

Producer Profile

Laurent Pillot, who took over the running of Domaine Pillot in his mid-twenties, transformed his family estate from grape growers to one of the more distinguished estates in the Côte de Beaune.

Laurent has since transferred his winemaking responsibilities to his son, Adrien. A superb collection of vineyards and a modern winemaking facility on the edge of the village, both their red and white wines are of an excellent quality. In particular, from both sides of the colour divide, both the white Chassagne-Montrachet and the rounded, sultry Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge clearly profess their beautiful underlying minerality.

Viticulture

Facing almost due south, the La Chatenière vineyard cover 8.4 hectares almost half a mile long and sits above a country road running from Gamay to Puligny village. Chalky, pebbly marl soils provide good drainage and force the vines to drive the roots deep in search of water.

Winemaking

The hand harvested grapes arrive at the winery where they are very gently pressed and the free run juice put into oak for fermentation. Around a quarter of this oak is new and post fermentation the wine is aged for a further 11 months in barrel before release.

Oak Ageing

Time: 11 Months
Type: 228L French Oak
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: 25

Tasting Note

An excellent premier cru level wine, which delivers on quality without the price-tag of neighbouring Chassagne and Puligny Montrachet. La Chatenière offers some of the most powerful and elegant wines of St Aubin, with citrus, apricot and stone fruit with a hint of vanilla spice, which merges with minerality and textural breadth on the finish

Food Matching

Rich fish dishes, mild and soft cheese, cured meats.