2011 Domaine de Montille Beaune Les Grèves, 3-bottle Lot

Domaine de Montille is the Volnay estate of the Montille family, which traces its roots to the 17th century. In modern times the estate was revived by Hubert Montille, the family patriarch who, though trained as a lawyer, began making wine in 1947. Rather than selling his cuvee to negociants, he bottled his own, a rarity at the time. Today the estate is run by Hubert’s son Etienne, also a lawyer with extensive viticulture experience, with help from his sister Alix. Hubert died in 2014. The 60-acre estate includes Grand Cru parcels in Clos de Vougeot, Corton and Corton-Charlemagne, as well as Premier Crus in Vosne-Romanee, Pommard, Volnay, Beaune and Puligny-Montrachet. Clive Coates calls Domaine de Montille a “great Volnay estate, well-known for its policy of minimal chaptalisation. This makes for very pure wines….”

Les Greves is a 75-acre Premier Cru vineyard in the central part of the Beaune appellation, in Burgundy's Cote de Beaune. Though Beaune has no Grand Cru vineyards, it has 44 vineyards that are either partly or completely Premier Cru. Clive Coates has written that in the central section of the Beaune appellation is “where you will find the finest examples of premier cru in Beaune.”

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.