New Releases of White Burgundy from Michel Niellon

We might as well call this, Chassagne Montrachet week. For this week, and one week only: two of the best producers of Chassagne Montrachet out there with their newest releases. Isn't life grand! 

Michel Niellon, who began working with his father Marcel in the 1950’s, has crafted more than fifty vintages of extraordinary wines. The father-son team began domaine-bottling in the 1960’s and soon after, their four hectare estate was considered one of the very best in the village. Since 1991, Michel has shared vineyard and winemaking duties with his son-in-law, Michel Coutoux. Recently, Michel’s grandson Mathieu Bresson joined the winery as well.  

Niellon is a benchmark producer in the village of Chassagne and the wines have a classic style, expressing the terroir of each vineyard while striking a balance of crisp minerality with rich and ripe fruit.

Holdings: 7.5 hectares in Chassagne-Montrachet
Winemaker: Michel Coutoux has worked with his father-in-law, Michel Niellon since 1991, and recently, Niellon’s grandson, Mathieu Bresson joined the team

Style: Classic; expression of terroir of each vineyard, balancing crisp minerality with ripe fruit
Farming: Plowing for weed control, no herbicides, lutte raisonnée.
Harvest is early for better acidity; they are often the first in the village to pick

Cellar: Spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel
Malolactic & aging in barrel (20-30% new oak depending on the cuvée)

“As I wrote last year, Niellon’s son-in-law, Michel Coutoux, is routinely producing wines of impressively consistent quality and style. Coutoux describes the 2018 vintage as “another Burgundian classic,” much the same terms he applied to his excellent 2017s, and this is one address where 2017 and 2018 are more first cousins than distant relations. As readers may remember, house fingerprint here is distinctive, with a touch of toasty oak from Saint-Romain’s Tonnellerie Gillet marking each cuvée and the wines dependably distinguishing themselves with lovely texture and concentration. This is a domaine in fine form today, and readers who have fallen out of touch with the wines are advised to reacquaint themselves with this excellent producer.”

—William Kelley, Wine Advocate, January 2020
 

• 10% off any 6, 15% off any 12!
• Wines set to Arrive Beginning of March
• Burghound has not released scores yet, going with the WA
• Some of these wines are extremely limited. Proceed with caution!

2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet Rouge VV
Newsletter Price: $74.99
A blend from two parcels that total one hectare, Concis du Champs, in the center, and Les Battaudes, bordering Remigny. The average age of the
two blocks are 40-50 years old.

2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet Rouge 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean Rouge
Newsletter Price: $124.99
91 Points WA
Clos Saint-Jean is planted almost entirely to Chardonnay, but the small section where Pinot Noir is grown has conditions very similar to those of the
red wine vineyards in neighboring Santenay.

2018 Michel Niellon Bourgogne Blanc
Newsletter Price: $71.99
A relatively new cuvée. Planted in 2010, the first harvest was in 2013.


2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet
Newsletter Price: $124.99
Sourced from several parcels, totaling just under two hectares; Michel is often the first to pick in his area, preferring good acidity for freshness in the
wines. The vines were planted in 1963 and 1993.


2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Maltroie
Newsletter Price: $191.99
90 Points WA
Selected from a parcel of vines planted in 1977, half to Chardonnay and half to Pinot Noir.


2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Chaumees La Truffiere
Newsletter Price: $191.99
94 Points WA
This is one of Michel’s favorite vineyards; it was named for the abundance of mushrooms found here, high on the slope near the forest. The domaine
has sourced from this 80-year-old vineyard since 1988. The old vines yield a wine of richness and elegance with a crisp mineral profile.



2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint Jean
Newsletter Price: $191.99
93 Points WA
This parcel is located at the top of the slope west of the village, next to a large limestone quarry.


2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Champgains
Newsletter Price: $191.99
93 Points WA
Champgains sits at the crest of the slope between Chassagne and Puligny; the plot is just under half a hectare, planted in 1988. Clay and fragmented
rock soil.

2018 Michel Niellon Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Vergers
Newsletter Price: $191.99
93 Points WA+
Les Vergers is on the more gentle part of the slope north of the village of Chassagne, with clay and gravelly limestone soils. This climat gives the wine
a crisp mineral profile layered over silky citrus and orchard fruit notes. The vines were planted in 2001.


2018 Michel Niellon Grand Cru Chevalier Montrachet
Newsletter Price: $419.99
95 Points WA
This famous grand cru has soils so rocky that Michel had to use small explosives when he replanted his plot of 28 rows of vines in 1970. The shallow soils
force the vines to struggle as they produce small quantities of exceptional, highly-extracted fruit. The resulting wine is mineral-driven with a strikingly
complex nose of ripe fruit, acacia blossom and stone.