Are not de Montille labels incredibly cool? Even when they say ‘Beaune’ on them, which are by far their least flash wines. Not that they are bad, you understand. It is just that not so long as ago a poor lunatic who never had a any time off from the occupation forced upon him could quite easily afford a distinctly flash Volnay or Pommard Premier Cru.
Beaunes like this are odd old fish because, even though this smells and tastes joyfully mature and ready for plucking now; I bet if you opened a well stored bottle of this in 20 years it would still be simply lovely. Beaune wines may smell and taste light and ethereal when they are young but they have an incredible capacity for ageing.
Beaune Premier Cru Les Sizies 2010, Domaine de Montille
Really pale colour, but what the fuck has that got to do with anything?
Delicious nose of ripe English strawberries and raspberries. Got to watch out for those German strawberries and raspberries! Not the same at all! The fruit smells perfectly mature in character – ignoring my caveat above, this wine smells like it is perfectly up for drinking with great pleasure.
There is a hint of leafiness to the nose. This is not unripeness, but a character Beaune wines often express. It adds to the complexity of the nose, but it is still far from the most involute wine you will encounter in your life. Unless you only buy £1.99 wines from reject shops, of course!
Just a technical note, there is barely a hint of alcohol on the nose, the label claims 12.5%, and that is precisely what you want from a light, pretty, fruity drink like this.
The palate is light and fruity, with a reasonable amount of fresh fruity acid to it. It ta sites lively and fun.
Lively it may be but the fruit is softening a tad as it is reasonably mature. The tannins are also pretty soft, so most of the structure is due to acid/fruit interplay.
The Editor commented that this smells like one of Mac Forbes better single vineyard Pinots, although which one is hard to say, Yarra Glen perhaps? His wines cost a hint less than this, and I think they are both damned good value. Neither will blow your mind with their incredible intricacy, but, by arse, they are damned enjoyable!
Just for jollies, I am ageing a magnum of good Premier Cru Beaune 2010 for about 20-25 years. If anyone is still speaking to me then, remind me and we can drink it together!
