Exploring the premiers crus surrounding Montrachet

Understanding the nuances of the premiers crus surrounding Montrachet may seem complicated, but it can yield significant dividends if it leads you to wines that resemble the grand crus at a fraction of the price. Here we examine some of the premier crus (and even village-level wines) that fit the bill.

This article includes:

• Puligny-Montrachet premiers crus
• Chassagne-Montrachet premiers crus
• Saint-Aubin premiers crus
• Village-level wines worth looking out for

Scroll down to see scores and tasting notes for a selection of must-try Montrachet premier cru wines

Domaine Leflaive winemaker Pierre Vincent explains the vineyards around Montrachet in the following way:

‘Chevalier-Montrachet is typified by a marked minerality and by flinty gun smoke notes. The clay and limestone soil is very poor and gives a saline note on the finish.

In Bâtard-Montrachet, below Montrachet, the soil is much deeper, and the higher clay content gives a very opulent wine.

In Bienvenues-Bâtard Montrachet, on the other hand, thinner soils produce wines with abundant energy.

In [premier cru Les] Pucelles, one finds similarities with Chevalier-Montrachet. However, the Clos du Meix is different – it is a little bowl or depression that is cooler and more humid. Leflaive has all three sectors: Grande Pucelles, Petites Pucelles, and the Clos des Meix which is more austere. Montrachet, however, is a synthesis of all of these and gives a wine that is so concentrated that served in an opaque black glass one might mistake it for red wine.’

See also: Exploring Montrachet and the surrounding grands crus

Puligny-Montrachet premiers crus

Immediately adjoining Montrachet to the north is premier cru Le Cailleret (which can also be spelled in the plural Les Caillerets).

The portion that touches Montrachet is known as Les Demoiselles. Just up the slope from this is another 1.03-hectare section of Les Demoiselles that was promoted to Grand Cru Chevalier Montrachet in 1939. Ownership is split between Louis Jadot and Louis Latour.

At the same altitude, just to the north, is another 0.25-hectare section of Le Cailleret owned by Domaine Jean Chartron that was also promoted to Chevalier Montrachet in 1974. The Chartron holdings in Cailleret are still substantial, despite having sold some parcels (including the reclassified parcel) to settle inheritance taxes in the 1990s. The portion they have retained is called the Clos du Cailleret, a vineyard enclosed by walls at the northern end of the climat, a small slice of which is planted to Pinot Noir.

The wines are usually firmly structured and lemony but not lacking in density. Just up-slope and to the south lies the lieu-dit ‘Vigne Derrière’ which can also be sold as Cailleret.

There are three other subdivisions: En Caillerets, Chassagne tout court, and Les Combards. The total surface of Cailleret is 10.86 hectares.

North of Le Cailleret lies Les Folatières. At 17.64 hectares, this climat is relatively large. Part of the lower slopes share the same altitude and exposition as Chevalier-Montrachet. As with Cailleret, there are several sections of this vineyard. The largest of these is called Ez Folatières, which can be somewhat mixed with he lower sections providing more richness than the upper stretches.

Another well-known area is En la Richarde, where proprietors include Louis Jadot, Benoît Ente, and Domaine d’Auvenay. According to Jasper Morris, sections of both of these lieux-dits have been declassified to village-level because of work in the vineyards. In general, the profile is a bit riper and a bit softer in Folatières than it is in Le Cailleret.

Just down-slope from Le Cailleret lies the premier cru Les Pucelles, north of Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.

The entire vineyard has not always been accorded the same interest: the portion known as Clos des Meix has been separate (as alluded to in the quote from Pierre Vincent); this distinction goes back to Dr. Lavalle in 1855, if not before.

While the wines are generally not as taut as those of Cailleret, the standard here is very high, and the wines clearly reflect the flinty and citrus character of Puligny-Montrachet.

Premier crus in Chassagne and Saint-Aubin

On the Chassagne side of the grands crus, there are also vineyards traditionally associated with the grands crus. There is a bit of Chassagne-Montrachet PC En Remilly that borders Chevalier at the top of the slope. This section, located at 300 metres above sea level, faces almost due south before the hill swings into the valley that leads to St.-Aubin and Gamay. This portion is also connected to the premier cru of the same name in St.Aubin, which can also produce very fine results. The soils are similar, but the vines face west-southwest here. Both can deliver a wine that is dense, nutty, and complex.

The vineyards in En Remilly are at the top of the lieu-dit Dent de Chien. Most of this lieu-dit is unplanted scrubland lacking enough soil for vines to survive. One of the portions that is planted with vines, however, touches Montrachet. Another portion borders premier cru Blanchot Dessus, an excellent site that is the southern continuation of Montrachet and was, before the establishment of the AOC system, often considered to be part of Montrachet. It is located just upslope from Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, and the commission that recommended elevating that vineyard to grand cru status in 1939 also recommended elevating Blanchot Dessus. However, the INAO declined to do so.

Blogger Steen Öhman shows in his research that Blanchot Dessus was included in Montrachet in the 1861 Comité d’Agriculture classification. The soil and situation are similar to that of Criots, and the top wines share a similar elegant floral character without perhaps the concentration or ageability of the grand crus on either side.

On the other side of the grands crus, down-slope from Bâtard-Montrachet lies Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru Vide Bourse. Just north of Vide-Bourse is a village-level lieu-dit of just over two hectares called Les Encégnières which is also down-slope from Bâtard-Montrachet.

There is often a pretty apricot or ripe apple fruit and notes of white flowers over a silky, supple texture that is eminently elegant if lacking a bit of tension. Over the border, in Puligny, is the much bigger 9.12-hectare village-level lieu-dit Les Enseignères, spelled almost, but not quite, the same way, just as the wines bear a strong resemblance to each other but are not twins.

Here the soils are relatively deep and have a high clay content, similar to those of Bâtard itself. Les Enseignères runs below part of Bâtard-Montrachet and most of Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet as well. The appellation was made famous by Coche-Dury, but in truth there are many able producers here.

For wine lovers eager for the pleasures of top-notch white Burgundy but nervous about the prices for top bottles in the current overheated market, these appellations on the limits of the grand crus of Puligny and Chassagne offer superb drinking and ageability at a fraction of the cost of their well-known neighbours.

Charles Curtis MW’s must-try Montrachet Premier Cru and village wines:

Wines are ordered alphabetically by score. Wines from the 2020 vintage may not have completed maturation at the time they were tasted.

Related content

Get to know white Burgundy: Good, better, best

Back roads of Burgundy, part 1: the Côte de Beaune