2019 Domaine Pillot Laurent & Romain Pinot Noir Bourgogne France 750 ml

Domaine Pillot Laurent & Romain’s 2019 Bourgogne is the type of hidden, off-the-beaten-path value that we live to track down. A complex, carefully crafted Pinot Noir from pristine vineyards in and around Mercurey, it’s a rare find. We’ve got the only 150 cases west of the Atlantic.

This is a true need-to-know-someone find, one that virtually never escapes Burgundy’s wine-savvy locals. It only ended up in our glasses because our wine writer friend Lucas brought a bottle back from the small, family-run estate. As our group blind-tasted it at Michelin two-star Saison, we watched Burgundy buffs—who hadn’t even blinked at the restaurant’s pages of triple-digit priced wines—heap on the praise.

Even as bottles from icons like Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey and Hubert Lamy made their rounds, the Pillot’s intricate mingling of dense black and red fruit with intriguing spice stood out. The barbequed quail, black truffle, and dry-aged beef that adorned our plates were transcendent, but after each course, our conversation (and glasses) inevitably drifted back to the Pillot.

“This bottle might be the only one in the country right now,” Lucas told us after he revealed the wine to wide, saucer-plate eyes. “You just can’t get it in the States.” But the wine was too good to let go. We spent the evening emailing and by midnight, we’d secured the only cases headed to US soil for Wine Access members. 

Pinot Noir from the Côte d’Or is undeniably excellent, well worth the region’s soaring prices. But ear-to-the-ground buyers know the Côte Chalonnaise is the spot for exceptional Pinot at great values, especially wines from its small estates (if you can find them) like Domain Pillot Laurent & Romain. The New York Times said Côte Chalonnaise reds convey “what makes Burgundy the promised land for pinot noir wines.”

Purple-tinged and alluring, this Bourgogne presents layer after layer of aromas—pomegranate, violet, hibiscus, and oriental spice. A sip reveals density and complexity, as bold black- and red-fruit flavors give way to more intricate cardamom, star anise, and cinnamon. 

Domaine Pillot crafted their Bourgogne from vineyards around Mercurey, a village that, according to Wine Enthusiast, produces “some of Burgundy’s most attractive, cushioned and vibrant Pinot Noirs.”  Laurent and Romain represent the fifth and sixth generations, respectively, to make wine at the estate, and they’re intimately acquainted with the land around this acclaimed village.

From clay-limestone soils that imbue this Pinot with density and tension, the Pillots hand-harvest all their grapes and age the wine for 10 months in vats to preserve the fruit purity that paired admirably with nearly every high-end dish that hit the table at Saison. 

Unless you find yourself at a bistro in the Côte Chalonnaise sometime soon, we’re not sure when you’ll see this wine again, and it’s not one to miss.