2020 Au Pied du Mont Chauve Chas.-Mtr. 1er Cru La Maltroie
France / Burgundy / Cote de Beaune / Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Blanc
Au Pied du Mont Chauve Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie (owned by Domaines Famille Picard).
Plot located at the foot of the hill on a slightly sloping ground near the center of the village. Rocks called "Loups" peep out in the middle of fairly clayey and heavy soil and highlight the presence of a rupture made up of marl. The soil is deep and has a large useful water reserve. The plot is also surrounded by low stone walls, which strongly reflect the heat. The vines are around 30 years old.
The grapes are grown biodynamically and harvested by hand in crates, sorted on a sorting table if necessary and conveyed directly to the pneumatic press. Pressing of whole grapes for two and a half hour. The juice from stainless steel vats settles at 12 degrees overnight. Then the must is directly transferred to barrels to achieve alcoholic fermentation (traditional Burgundy vinification).
Aged 18 months on lees, including 10 months in oak barrels.
Au Pied du Mont Chauve – where does this unusual name come from? APMC came into being at the end of the 2000s; the Picard family was then the owner of vines historically established on the Chassagne-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin, and Puligny-Montrachet estates. It was, therefore, perfectly natural for the name Au Pied du Mont Chauve to take root in Francine Picard's mind. After all, the latter is the nickname given to the well-known Montrachet's hill. APMC is bestowed with an extremely rich plot in those three exceptional winegrowing villages with no less than 20 prestigious climats – specially delineated plots of land, specific to Burgundy vineyards – including Les Demoiselles, Les Caillerets and En Remilly. From a desire for synergy between terroir and the wine, the vines have been biodynamically cultivated for several years, thus the vinification process is the most natural possible. Clearly delineated, delicate and expressive, APMC 's vintages are truly precise jewels where the perfectly controlled ageing reveals a fresh density of unmistakable elegance on the palate.