Montrachet

Looking down the vines of Chevalier-Montrachet with Le Montrachet below and Batard-Montrachet just beyond. The village of Puligny-Montrachet is in the distance

Montrachet is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for white wine from Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune subregion of Burgundy. It is situated across the border between the two communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet and produces what many consider to be the greatest dry white wine in the world.^[1] It is surrouned by four other Grand Cru vineyards all having "Montrachet" as part of their names. Montrachet itself is generally considered superior to its four Grand Cru neighbours.

Montrachet is located in the south of the Côte de Beaune, which is the southern half of the Côte d'Or, which in turn is the most important of the several wine producing subregions of Burgundy.

The Montrachet vineyard is almost equally divided between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The wine from the Chassagne side is usually known as Le Montrachet while the wine from the Puligny side is known as Montrachet.

Production

In 2008, 7.99 hectares (19.7 acres) of vineyard surface was in production within the AOC, and 349 hectoliter of wine was produced,^[2] corresponding to just under 47,000 bottles.

AOC regulations

Wines from Montrachet are composed entirely of Chardonnay but, like most French wines, are referred to by their place of origin rather than by variety. The allowed base yield of Montrachet is 40 hectoliter per hectare, and the minimum grape maturity is 12.0 per cent potential alcohol.^[3]

Producers

There were 18 owners and 26 producers as of October 2007 (an owner can own different subdivisions and/or lease to different producers). The largest owner is the Laguiche family who leases its subdivision to Joseph Drouhin. The highest prices are typically charged for Montrachet produced by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which owns 0.67 hectares (1.7 acres) and produces around 3,000 bottles per year.

The last sale of a subdivision occurred in 1993 when the Crédit Foncier bank (owner of Château de Puligny) bought 428m² (4606ft²) for over half a million Euros.

Montrachet wines are some of the most expensive white wines in the world: prices can range from 55 EUR to 1800 EUR per 75 cl bottle. The price depends on the vineyard (Montrachet is typically more expensive than the other four), the vintage, and the grower (in Burgundy, vineyards are divided among multiple growers, and there can be substantial variation in quality).

Montrachet and its Grand Cru neighbours

Four additional Grand Cru vineyards lie alongside Montrachet and share its name. These are Chevalier-Montrachet, which is situated immediately above Montrachet on the slope, Bâtard-Montrachet, which is situated immediately below Montrachet and is separated from it by the Route des Grands Crus, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, which is situated immediately beyond Bâtard-Montrachet, in the direction of Puligny-Montrachet, and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, which is situated next to Bâtard-Montrachet in the direction of Chassagne-Montrachet. Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet lie entirely within the commune of Puligny-Montrachet. Criots-Batard-Montrachet lies entirely within Chassagne-Montrachet. Batard-Montrachet, like Montrachet, is split between the two villages.

See also

• French wine
• List of Burgundy Grand Crus

References