Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot Transforming Tradition into the Burgundian Wines of Today
The Pillot family have been vignerons in the Côte de Beaune village of Chassagne-Montrachet since 1625. While during the early days of their history they were also coopers, the family began devoting themselves full time to their vineyards and winemaking by the 19th century and set about gradually increasing their vineyard holdings, jumpstarting a legacy that would make them one of the most sought-after names in Chassagne.
In 1992, a new and exciting chapter began when father-son team Fernand and Laurent Pillot took over the management of the family estate and once again broadened their vineyard holdings throughout the Côte de Beaune — including a parcel of vines in Pommard’s Pothier-Rieusset lieu-dit which had previously been part of Marie-Anne Pillot-Pothier’s (Laurent’s wife) family holdings.
Today, the family’s hilly 14.8 hectares / 36.5 acres of vineyards include 12 premiers crus and span 22 appellations (mostly in Chassagne-Montrachet, but also across the communes of Santenay, Saint-Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Volnay, and Beaune). Since Fernand’s retirement, Laurent and his son Adrien are continuing to build upon the family’s legacy with an intense focus on quality. Every grape is harvested and sorted by hand and yields are kept painfully low. Sustainable viticulture is also a cornerstone of the Pillot philosophy and they sport the lengthy list of certifications to prove it — Lutte Raisonnée since 1990, DEPHY Ecophyto since 2012, and HVE3 since 2021.
At the Pillot Winery in Chassagne-Montrachet, Adrian is in charge of the winemaking while Laurent concentrates on the meticulous vineyard work. Grandfather Fernand, the driving force behind the modernization of the family’s wines, still keeps an eye on things, albeit from a leisurely distance. As the new generation of the Pillot family, Adrien is zeroed in on showcasing his family’s heritage of superb Côte de Beaune terroir, with a winemaking philosophy based on judicious use of oak, minimal lees aging, and no filtration or fining wherever possible. His aim? To define the Pillot style for the next generation.
Terroir
The 50 parcels of vineyards owned by the Pillots are located in some of the most sought-after sites along the Côte de Beaune. Bookended in the north by the Côte de Nuits and in the south by the Côte Chalonnaise, this presitgious region is only about 25 kilometers / 15.5 miles long from the southwest to the northeast. It faces the rising sun which helps with ripening, and with rising temperatures in the region, encourages a bolder style of red wine.
Burgundy is famous for its limestone soils but the Pillot family’s spread of vineyards across multiple appellations allows them to produce wines from vastly different terroirs, each with their own character. From the gravelly soils in Santenay, to the influence of clay in Pommard and Chassagne-Montrachet, and the shallower, stonier soils of Meursault, the Pillot range spotlights some of the most extraordinary vineyards of Burgundy. In fact, one of their flagship wines, Les Grandes Ruchottes, comes from high on the hill of Chassagne-Montrachet — it is widely considered among the most stunning, age-worthy white expressions of the region.
Viticulture
To manage their chardonnay and pinot noir vineyards — even a little aligoté — the Pillot family implement agrobiological practices. They are dedicated to ensuring optimum nutrition of the soils, studying their composition, and to keeping healthy plants around the vines to achieve a complex level of biodiversity and the best-possible growing conditions.
Since 2021, the Pillot vineyards have been certified HVE3 (Haute Valeur Environnemental), showing their commitment to sustainability through actions such as the elimination of chemical fertilizer and careful management of water. The Pillot winery has also been a member of the DEPHY Ecophyto research group since 2012, a body established to meet France’s targets to reduce phytosanitary products by 50% by 2025.
And of course, like most of the best producers in the Cóte de Beaune, the Pillot family’s vineyards are hand-harvested with careful selection taking place before the grapes reach the winery.
Defining Ageworthiness in Chassagne-Montrachet
At Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot, all wines are vinified and matured in a modern winery, but Laurent pays special attention to keep with traditional Burgundian practices: barrel fermentation for the whites, minimal stirring of the lees, and aging the wines in French oak barrels from a variety of forests and coopers. Fermentation takes place over 18 to 21 days in open vats, followed by 12 to 18 months aging sur lie in barriques. No filtration and no fining if unnecessary.
