2017 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet Côte de Beaune 750 ml

“Eight cases?” The number-crunchers in finance were pushing back hard on this one—the economics didn’t make sense, they told us. Not enough to go around. 

“Eight cases of an icon,” Master of Wine Vanessa Conlin replied. “An original Burgundy standard-bearer and the only village-level Puligny-Montrachet grown among Premier Cru vines. No matter how many cases, the number would never be enough.” 

In the end, finance relented, making way for our first ever offer from legendary Domaine de Montille. For those who want to experience precision, focus, and expression on the highest level; who seek the standard by which the world’s foremost whites are measured—but not the Premier or Grand Cru price tag—this is for you. We agree, eight cases aren’t close to enough, but they’re absolutely necessary. 

Charging from the glass, Asian pear, freshly sliced apples, and white flowers blend seamlessly with clove, hazelnut, and crushed limestone from the Puligny slopes. As Wine Advocate wrote, the 2017 is “pure and vibrant” and “precocious.” 

This wine supports the classic argument that Burgundy isn’t only about taste. Domaine de Montille epitomizes what Puligny-Montrachet feels like: chiseled, laser-like, and utterly distinctive on the palate. 

Despite the village label, the 2017 Puligny-Montrachet easily passes for Premier Cru quality. That’s because it was primarily grown on a 2-acre parcel located within the Premier Cru vineyard of Les Chalumeaux. 

When these vines were planted almost 50 years ago, a thin layer of topsoil was brought in from outside the vineyard, a move that resulted in this tiny parcel’s village-level classification. While erosion has long since returned the chalky soils to their original Premier Cru composition, the village label has remained, as has the sub-$100 price tag. 

Extraordinary character and a deep sense of place have been defining traits of de Montille wines since 1947 when the late, great Hubert de Montille inherited his family’s 250-year-old estate. At that time, most Burgundy growers sold their grapes to négociants, but Hubert changed course, keenly understanding the potential of estate bottling for quality. 

Over the next 50 years, Hubert’s wines became the stuff of legend. When his son Etienne took the reins in 1995, that legacy only grew. 

Today’s 2017 owes its dazzling purity to the biodynamic viticulture instituted by Etienne and the pioneering vision of terroir-driven brilliance of his father. It does both justice, defining Puligny-Montrachet and the greatness of Burgundy in the same breath. 96 bottles are all we’ve got, and each one is a treasure.