Au Pied du Mont Chauve is one of the Picard family's labels. The estate produces brilliant-value Burgundy and is one of few producers able to hold back wine for later release.
The wines are made at the Ch. de Chassagne-Montrachet, a huge property based in the heart of the village in the Côte de Beaune. The wines are labelled under Au Pied du Mont Chauve, however, because the château name legally belongs to the neighbouring estate Domaine Bader-Mimeur.
Since 1997, the property has been in the hands of the Picard family, which owns six domaines in the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise in total. The original Domaine Picard was a two-hectare estate in Chagny, south of Chassagne-Montrachet, at the northern limits of the Côte Chalonnaise. It was established in 1951 by Louis Felix Picard. Felix along with his son Michel (who worked on the estate from the age of 15) steadily increased their holdings, first in
Mercurey and Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise before buying the Ch. de Chassagne-Montrachet in 1997.
Michel’s daughter Francine Picard has been managing the various estates since the late 1990s. Today 110 hectares are farmed organically, and she began to converting the vineyards to biodynamic farming in 2010.
In total the Picard family manages 136 hectares (110 hectares in the Côte Chalonnaise and 26 hectares in the Côte de Beaune), roughly split between 60% red and 40% white.
Only natural yeasts are used during fermentation and particular attention is paid to the selection of oak casks as well as to the bottling date, in order to emphasise the different
characteristics of each site.
The Chardonnays of the domaine are generally straight, tight, precise and acquire natural fat after a few years. For the reds there is an emphasis on retaining the perfumes of Pinot Noir at the domaine, with gentle pump-overs during fermentation to produce wines with supple tannins and precision on the finish.
