From: Rully, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France (estate based in Chassagne-Montrachet, Côte de Beaune)
Varietal: Chardonnay

Tasting Notes: Y’all. I wish “surprise wine” moments like this happened more often, but I’m always so thankful when they do— and I hope you will as well once you taste it. If you’re unfamiliar with Jean-Marc Pillot, he’s a fantastic fourth-generation producer based in Chassagne-Montrachet. His wines are gorgeous, racy, and chiseled, stunning at any stage, especially when enjoyed and contrasted with other cuvées. (On that note, please get a bottle of the 2015 Domaine Rois Mages Rully Blanc while we have it and do a taste comparison over two to three days. You’ll pat yourself on the back and have a decadent time while enjoying a “Rully compare and contrast.”) This particular bottling comes to us now at six years of age, and it still feels incredibly youthful. Rounded gold fruits, energetic citrus, a touch of floral on the nose and the palate, and a lush, Chassagne- esque, vibrant palate come to the forefront, balanced with a clean-cut core of chalky minerality and a saline finish. It still has the richness of the 2018 vintage, but its core has probably become more defined with age, and if I had tasted this blind, I would have never guessed it was from Rully, Premier Cru, or not. Altogether, this is a steal of a wine, and I only wish we had more to offer. –E. Lyman, Champion Wine Cellars, September 3rd, 2024.

Pairing: You have many options, but I have gotten seafood-based pairings stuck in my head, and I can’t think of a better choice. Crab fried rice, crab croque-madame (check out the recipe below), deviled crab backs or crab cakes, garlicky crab pasta with brown butter, salt and pepper shrimp, coconut shrimp, shrimp tempura, corn and shrimp beignets, and even fish tacos or fish and chips. Other options include your classic French roasted chicken with baguette to sop up gravy made from drippings and white wine, chicken and herb salads with Nuoc Cham, salads with nectarines or corn, and of course, the classic French chicken liver and green bean salad with garam masala.

Crab Croque-Madame
By David Tanis

About. Many, many thanks to our friends at Rosenthal Wine Merchants for the following information.

Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth generation of his branch of the Pillot family to tend vineyards in Chassagne Montrachet. Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth generation of his branch of the Pillot family to tend vineyards in Chassagne Montrachet. He joined his father, Jean, in 1985 to learn the craft of “vigneron.” After six years of working side-by-side, Jean-Marc assumed the direction of the domaine in 1991 with the assistance of his wife, Nadine, and his sister, Beatrice.

Of course, his father, Jean, remains by his side rendering advice and valuable assistance in the vineyards (often while he is tending the garden in back of the chai!). Jean-Marc has instituted several changes at the estate, the most prominent of which is the construction of a new cave. Of equal importance, Jean-Marc expanded the amount of vineyards under cultivation and has made subtle modifications in vinification and elevage to place his own “mark” on this estate which now covers approximately fifteen hectares with an annual production of, more or less, 60,000 bottles.

The domaine is dominated by its production of white wines but there are important cuvées of red wine produced here as well. Vineyard holdings are spread throughout the village of Chassagne with subsidiary parcels in Puligny, Santenay, Meursault and Remigny (to the south). This breadth of real estate enables the Pillot family to produce a stunning range of wines that put on brilliant display the intricacies of terroir in this southern tier of the Cote de Beaune.

The estate’s jewels are its premier crus blancs (Baudines, Chenevottes, Macherelles, Vergers, Morgeot, Caillerets, La Maltroie and Champs Gain) and premier cru rouges (Macherelles, Morgeot, Clos St.Jean), all within the boundaries of Chassagne Montrachet. However, one should not overlook several gems that come from less exalted appellations.

The vines in most parcels are between 25 and 50 years old; in certain instances the vines are considerably older, reaching the 100 year mark in Clos Saint Jean and Clos Saint Marc (within the cru of Vergers). Traditional viticultural practices are used in the vineyards. Both Cordon de Royat and Guyot Simple pruning and training systems are employed. The spring and summer months are the time for intensive work in the vineyards to control the size and quality of the harvest, the work including de-budding, leaf-control and, when necessary, the vendange en vert. The vineyards are plowed, no herbicides are used and planting is at high density (10,000 vines per hectare on the village level; 12,000 vines per hectare on the 1er Cru level).

Harvest is manual. The white wines are almost all fermented and aged in barrel with a regimen of 10% to 30% new oak (the degree depending on the structure and importance of the wine). The wines are aged on the fine lees for twelve months and then are racked out of barrel into stainless steel tanks to clarify and settle naturally for an additional six months. The extra aging avoids the necessity to cold stabilize the wine. The red wines are destemmed entirely; the grapes undergo a brief cold maceration (up to five days) and then the alcoholic fermentation covers 10 to 12 days with both remontage and pigeage being practiced daily during that period. The reds are racked into barrel where the malolactic fermentation occurs; the wines are left in contact with the fine lees for twelve months; then, the wines are racked from barrel into stainless steel for an additional six months of aging before being bottled without filtration.

This wine. Jean-Marc’s friend’s parcel in Les Raclots is 60 years old, planted in the appellation’s classic clay-limestone terrain. This cuvée offers a saline impression with good power and depth of fruit, and a sense of underlying richness that stops short of viscosity. Les Raclots more than holds its own against some of Jean-Marc’s more gras- oriented Chassagne-Montrachet 1er crus, and it will age terrifically.

Jean-Marc’s reflections on the 2019 and 2018 vintage and Bill’s thoughts on this wine via Bill Nanson’s Burgundy Report.
Jean-Marc on 2019:
“This year we had quite early growth, but then were hit 3 times by the frost. We have great quality but lost 50% – a little less in the pinot as we prune here much later but this is something we’ve had every other year since 2016. Fortunately, no big surprises with fermentations, the 1er reds were never above 13° and started very easily – possibly because we had surprisingly high acidities. I think that, maybe, there was some ripening by concentration rather than full phenolic ripeness. We harvested all our whites before starting on the reds – the reds seem riper in 2018 than in 2019 – they are currently close, but no less delicious of-course!”

Jean-Marc on 2018:
“In 2018 as noted, the fermentations didn’t start so easily – probably because some of the reds were closer to 14°. We didn’t make the rendement, particularly the vines pruned cordon royat for the reds – but for the whites, we were full. I would say, fortunately, because we have so little wine in 2019. There’s less acidity in 2018s that’s for sure.”

From Bill Nanson: 2018 Rully 1er Les Raclots, next to Rabourcé
"A tighter but deep nose, faintly floral. Again a base of minerality – rather than the sweet texture of many Rully – bright, lovely extra intensity – chalky and long. Excellent"