Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champgains

The Pillots have cultivated vines in the Côte de Beaune village of Chassagne-Montrachet since 1625. A new and exciting chapter began when, in the 1990s, father-son team Fernand and Laurent Pillot extended their family’s vineyard holdings to also include a few incredible plots in neighboring Pommard and Volnay.Today, the Pillots cultivate 15 hilly hectares, covering 50 parcels (including 12 Premiers Crus). Since Fernand’s retirement, Laurent and his son Adrien are continuing the family’s legacy with a tireless focus on maintaining the utmost quality. Everything is harvested and sorted by hand and yields are kept painfully low. Every plot is worked under strict “agrobiologie” principles, and the estate has been proudly HVE-3 certified since 2021 - no easy feat. The family have also been members of the environmental research group DEPHY-EcoPhyto since 2012.

The vines grow on 0.85 acres of stony, clay-limestone soils which are located at 787 feet above sea level. Les Champgains sits mid-slope and mid-village in Chassagne, producing wines of elegance and depth. This parcel of vines was replanted in 2002 and is situated next to the family home. Before replanting the soil was left to regenerate without the application of fertilizer for 5 years, the result being young healthy vines that are already giving very mature grapes.

Grapes are hand-harvested and carried to the winery where they undergo alcoholic fermentation in French oak barrels (30% new) for a period of two months. The wine is barrel aged unitil the following summer so the wine has time to integrate and confirm its personality (approx 11–12 months), then bottled at the winery.

Persistent scents of lemon and grapefruit lead the way to a warm, round and rich mouthfeel with flavors of white flowers and citrus fruits.