Mercurey 1er cru Les Puillets 2020 Chateau de Chamilly

The Mercurey 1er Cru Les Puillets 2020 from Château de Chamilly is a mineral, floral and airy Premier Cru that will appeal to those who love precision. A parcel selection of just 1.25 hectares, with intimate production and a depth that surpasses village-level wines, it seduces through its volume and smoky character reminiscent of flint.

Terroir and vineyard

Les Puillets sits at 300 metres altitude on an east-facing slope. The soil is fine argilo-calcareous, rich in iron, with very little topsoil before bedrock surfaces here and there, on the rocks. The Pinot Noir vines are 50 years old, with naturally low yields, particularly modest in 2020, averaging around 7,000 bottles. Harvesting is manual with vine-side sorting and transport in small containers. Vinification lasts 12 to 19 days in temperature-controlled concrete vats, with a cold pre-fermentation maceration of 3 to 5 days and punchdowns or punchings according to fermentation stage and tasting. Ageing lasts 18 months: 12 months in oak barrels, including some new oak for depth and complexity, then 6 months in vat for fruit freshness. The wine is neither fined nor filtered.

Tasting profile

The cherry-tinged robe is brilliant. The nose is ripe, with crunchy red fruits softened by a note of cherry liqueur, fine floral and chalk aromas, and a saline hint of green tea. The palate is juicy and crunchy, with delicate, direct and persistent structure, remarkable succulence and generous layers of ripe fruit, wood and minerality, woven around silky tannins that firm up with the fruit. The finish reveals a light peppery note.

The domaine

Château de Chamilly, built in the 17th century, stands north of the Côte Chalonnaise, twenty minutes south of Beaune. Vignerons for twelve generations, the Desfontaine family acquired it in the early 19th century. Véronique and her sons Xavier and Arnaud now tend some thirty hectares in Bourgogne, Bouzeron, Montagny and Mercurey, vinifying each climat separately to express the subtle diversity of their terroirs.

Food pairings

This Mercurey Premier Cru will pair well with duck breast with green peppercorn sauce, beef burgundy, sirloin with mushrooms, Époisses or a soft cheese with washed rind. Served between 13 and 15 °C after a few hours of aeration, it can be enjoyed now or will keep for five to eight years.