2017 Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy, France (750ml)   

As international demand for Burgundy has accelerated in the last decade or so, some of the best values can be found in Bourgogne Blanc or Rouge from great producers such as Domaine de Montille.

Producer notes ~ "Le Clos du Château" is essentially a vineyard of approximately five hectares that sits in front of the Château de Puligny and is entirely enclosed by walls. This facilitates our biodynamic farming methods. Classified as Bourgogne AOC, this vineyard is remarkably well situated in the village on the border of the Puligny-Montrachet vineyards. The deep soil, consisting of silt and clay gives the wine a lovely generosity. From the vineyard to the winery, we do everything possible for this Clos du Château to be an exceptional Bourgogne Blanc that honors its origin and location. The wines, the style Our wines are known for their great aromatic purity. We always favor balance and elegance over power and extraction. The wines are classic expressions of Burgundy, of their appellations in general and of their specific terroirs in particular. The farming methods we use contribute to this individual style, and our winemaking methods aim to avoid excessive outside influences in order to bring out the equilibrium that can be found naturally in Burgundian terroir. All our fruit is hand-harvested. Thanks to pneumatic presses, we can calibrate our presses to fit the quality of the grapes and the profile of the vintage. After a light settling, the musts are placed mostly in 600-liter barrels as well as in 228-liter barrels, where the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place. We use approximately five to twenty percent new casks primarily made from Allier wood that sees a long yet light toasting. The first racking occurs after about one year of wood aging, after which begins the second, four- to six-month phase in stainless steel, which preserves the wine's freshness and tension. We finish the aging with a light fining followed by a similarly light and respectful filtration before bottling.