Domaine Fernand & Laurent Pillot, France

Laurent has since transferred his winemaking responsibilities to his son, Adrien. A superb collection of vineyards and a modern winemaking facility on the edge of the village, both their red and white wines are of an excellent quality. In particular, from both sides of the colour divide, both the white Chassagne-Montrachet and the rounded, sultry Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge clearly profess their beautiful underlying minerality.

Viticulture

The soil is very stony, mixed with shallow red earth. Sometimes the limestone base rock breaks into the soil profile. This results in a very hot micro climate in summer near the grape bunches, due to the reflected sunlight from the white stones. The soil also contains iron ore. They became High Environmental Value (HVE) level 3 certified at the beginning of 2021, recognition for all of the work they have done over the years working "agrobiologie" and cultivating the soils without using chemical weed killers.

Winemaking

The grapes are hand-picked. Pressed, the juice is then fermented in tank or oak barrel depending on the climat. The reds undergo punching down of the cap. The wine is then kept in tank or barrel on its lees to age and develop it's personality.