Chassagne-Montrachet

Chassagne-Montrachet sits in the Côte de Beaune, just to the south of Puligny-Montrachet – sharing the hill of Montrachet and the slope’s famous Grands Crus. Le Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet straddle both Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, providing its most prestigious wines, while Chassagne-Montrachet has exclusive ownership of Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.

Historically planted to Pinot Noir (as Puligny was), the village is now much better known for its Chardonnay. It’s hard to pin down an exact style here, however the whites often sit stylistically somewhere between those of Puligny and Meursault.

Beyond the Montrachet Grands Crus, the terroir here isn’t as good as next door in Puligny – limiting the wines’ potential, however there are some very fine Premiers Crus (with 55 in total), including La Romanée, Les Grandes Ruchottes, Blanchot Dessus and Les Caillerets. There are also a handful of very good sites for Pinot Noir, including Clos Saint-Jean Premier Cru (try Jean-Claude Ramonet's bottling).

When it comes to producers, you’ll find Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (along with the myriad other Colins and Moreys), Vincent Dancer, Jean-Noël Gagnard, Domaine Lamy-Pillot (as well as his personal project, Lamy-Caillat), Jean Chartron (with its three monopole sites, including Grand Cru Chevalier-Montrachet Clos des Chevaliers) and Bernard Moreau, among others. For value, don’t miss FINE+RARE favourite Au Pied du Mont Chauve.