Laurent Pillot’s elegant and energetic whites number with the best kept secrets in the whole of Burgundy. In a region where value increasingly means ‘overachievers from unfamous places,’ here’s an instance where value is coincident with both quality and geographical priority.
‘Champgains’ is the smallest of the five Chassagne premiers produced here. Pillot’s parcel lies in the (better) upper portion of ‘Champgains’ close to ‘Caillerets,’ and its wine always seems to borrow a measure of the ‘Caillerets’ mineral intensity. Fruit lands the first blow though you come to see this fruit as a prelude to - and in fact a vehicle for - subtler stone and spice touches.
This domaine has settled into a reductive approach unique among contemporary Chassagne producers. There’s just the barest whiff and reduction, where we find it, seems to delicately glide in and out of the wine. It maneuvers like a Point Guard, supporting, propping up, or clarifying other features as it moves.
Cheers,
Jason
