Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet produce the world’s finest dry white wines. In production for nearly two thousand years, the vineyards surrounding these villages produce wines of different characters — Puligny a bit more buttoned up, Chassagne a bit friendlier.
Today’s suggestion is classic Chassagne — rich, mouthfilling, and golden. It comes from Roger Belland, a fifth generation Burgundian winemaker. Belland’s excellent 2017 lineup is in our current July Futures issue, but we’ve still got a small stack of his beautiful 2014s.
First planted in 1421, the “Clos Pitois” is a monopole of the Belland family. Owning an entire vineyard is rare in Burgundy, and in keeping with Chassagne’s tradition of excellent Pinot Noir Belland continues to plant it half red and half white.
But today we’re focused on the white. With a few years in the bottle, the 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru “Clos Pitois” blanc is everything Chassagne-Montrachet is supposed to be. Burghound found “excellent richness” and “full-bodied flavors” and suggested 2019 as the year to begin drinking.
The bottles we’ve opened of this recently have been stunners. The nose is explosive and opulent, with coconut, flowers, butter, and honeysuckle — your nose will pick them up while the glass is still several inches away. On the palate it is long, rich, and vibrant, with notes of sweet lemons, hazelnut, and toast.
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Belland Chassagne 1er “Pitois” blanc 2014
bottle price: $69
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES