Location: Meursault Grape Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

CRAFT + ESTATE PRESENTS

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XAVIER MONNOT IS ONE OF THE MOST ESTEEMED NAMES IN THE CÔTE DE BEAUNE,

with vineyard plots stretching from Beaune to Maranges. Xavier can trace his mother’s ancestors, the Monniers, to 1723 in Meursault, and the family has been growing winegrapes for five generations, ever since his great-great-grandfather started to buy land. Xavier took over in 1994 after completing oenological studies. His grandfather, René Monnier, died in 1968, and his father died when Xavier was only five years old, so Xavier never had the opportunity to work with them. His grandmother and mother were at the helm of the estate for 22 years, and together they

continued to expand its holdings. The family began bottling wines at the domaine in the mid-1950s, focusing primarily on red wines. Around 1978 Alexis Lichine and Frank Schoonmaker helped popularize Chardonnay, so the family added white Burgundies to their bottlings. With a penchant to improve the family’s 17 hectares of vineyards, Xavier focused on replanting parcels with a combination of new clones and mass selections from old vines and on updating the cellar with modern equipment, including gravity flow. The new approach of the domaine combines traditional and modern methods in the vineyard and the winemaking. Xavier also began bottling his wines under his own label, Domaine Xavier Monnot.

The Monnot vineyards are composed of sixty percent white and forty percent red grapes and are vinified in a fresh style without excessive use of oak. Wines are expressive of their terroir, balanced and elegant.

VITICULTURE

Each vineyard is rooted in different soils and has different aspects and small climatic variations, so Xavier is meticulous about treating each plot personally. Yields vary for white (about 25 – 55 HL) and reds (about 15 – 35 HL) and all grapes are manually harvested. A combination of practices are used throughout the year, with an emphasis on restricting yields for quality and concentration and intervening as little as possible so as not to upset the natural environment. The approach is lutte raisonnée (meaning “reasoned struggle.”) Xavier is proactive, performing severe budding in spring and exercising strict tying so the grapes do not touch each other. This allows needed circulation to avoid Botrytis. Systematic leaf pulling allows micro-aeration, increases the efficiency of phytosanitary treatments and increases the production of grape polyphenols. Xavier believes in maintaining an average vine age of 30 to 40 years, so each year he replants no more than one-third of a plot, replacing unhealthy or underperforming vines with new ones. He says, “I like the youthful, juicy, fruitiness of the younger vines marrying with the power and complexity of the older ones.” Years of experience have made Xavier thoughtful about replacing rootstock, and he carefully matches it to the soils, clones and slope. To control weeds and maintain soil health, Xavier plows his vineyards. He describes his vineyards as “clean like a golf course. If you don’t do a good job in the vineyard, you don’t have a good

wine in the end.” Healthy, ripe fruit is at the heart of all decisions made in the vineyard.

WINEMAKING

More than half of the wines vinified are white (60 percent). Chardonnay is hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. When the grapes reach the cellar, a light crushing, called foulage, gently liberates the juice before pressing. To achieve Xavier’s goal of purity in the must, a slow and gradual pressure is applied and the juice is chilled. Barrels are gravity filled, and alcoholic fermentation takes place using indigenous yeasts. During barrel aging, the wines undergo full malolactic fermentation. Bâtonnage occurs at the end of alcoholic fermentation to round out the wines and help develop flavor.

Pinot Noir grapes receive two hand-sortings, one in the vineyard and one in the cellar. Clusters are destemmed, except possibly in warmer years, when up to 20 percent of the stems may be maintained. Xavier’s style is to maintain a fruit flavor and a glycerol (silky, rounder) mouthfeel. Modern equipment in the cellar ensures that berries remain whole, with very little liberation of juice. Again, native yeasts are used for primary fermentation in stainless steel vats. After four to five days of cold maceration, Xavier uses a combination of pump-over and punch-down to extract aromas, flavors, color and tannins, which he describes as similar to “stirring a pot of soup when you are cooking.” After pressing, the wines are transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation for 12 to 14 months, depending on the vineyard and vintage. Regional-level red wines receive 15 to 20 percent new oak, village-level receive 25 percent new, and premiers crus 30 to 35 percent. Aging lasts 12 to 14 months in mild- to medium-toast barrels, primarily Allier and Tronçais. Wines are racked once and lightly filtered.

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A.O.C.Grands Crus

A.O.C. VillagePremiers Crus

A.O.C. Village

BLAGNY

PULIGNY-MONTRACHET

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A.O.C. Village Premiers Crus

A.O.C. Village

Bourgogne Chardonnay Les grandes CouturesComing from three plots bordering Meursault with ages from 15 to 51 years, Les Grandes Coutures is a classic, elegant example of Bourgogne Chardonnay. Soils from these plots are predominantly argile (clay), very dense and slick. A seamless wine exhibiting flavors of grapefruit, apple and spice, with fresh butter notes and a refreshing finish.

THE WINES

MontheLie Les duressesThe Chardonnay for this wine comes from a half-hectare plot of crumbly, almost chalky limestone with an east–west orientation. These 18-year-old vines produce full-bodied, round wines with stone fruit aromas of peach and apricot balancing the pronounced minerality. Oak influence adds toasty notes, followed by a crisp, lively finish. The name Duresses is thought to come from daraises, which were movable gates or fences used to let livestock pass from one pen to another.

MeursauLt Le LiMozinLe Limozin is a lieux-dit situated just below the Meursault premier cru Les Genevrières and is named after a stream that used to flow near the vineyards. It is one of several lieux-dits in Meursault that perform above their official “village” level status. Le Limozin typically gives a wine that is broad and expansive thanks to a mix of clay and limestone soil and Monnot’s old vines (planted in 1961 and 1976) deliver an especially concentrated version. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 15-20% percent new French oak.

MeursauLt Les ChevaLièresLes Chevalières is a lieux-dit lying behind the town of Meursault in the valley leading towards Auxey-Duresses. It is one of several lieux-dits in Meursault that perform above their official “village” level status. The soil of Les Chevalières is very stony and the wine typically displays a strong mineral character, firm acidity, and piercing tension. There is always a big spine of acidity in Chevalières,” says Monnot. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 15-20% percent new French oak.

MeursauLt 1er Cru Les CharMesLes Charmes is one of six major premier crus is lying at the south end of the Meursault appellation. The name likely comes from the word chaume meaning “field.” Shallow limestone soils give a wine that is broad and rich as well as intensely mineral. The parcels belonging to Xavier Monnot were planted in 1961 and 1989 and provide plenty of concentration. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 30 - 35% percent new French oak

PuLigny-MontraChet 1er Cru Les FoLatièresLes Folatières is the largest Puligny premier cru and one of the best known thanks to its size and the quality of its wines. The name

“Folatières” comes from folles-terres meaning “crazy earth” and refers to the eroding soil of this site. It sits high up on the hill above Clavoillons with meager soil resulting in a full-bodied wine with plenty of minerality and grip. Xavier’s plot was purchased by his grandmother with parcels planted between 1959 and 1973. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 30-35% percent new French oak.

Beaune 1er Cru Les Cent-vignesLes Cents Vignes, “the Hundred Vines,” is a premier cru lying in the northern section of the Beaune amphitheater where the wines tend to be fresher and finer than wines from the southern section. Typically, the well-drained soils of Les Cents Vignes give delicate red berry aromas and a silky texture. Xavier Monnot’s 4.2 acre parcel was planted between 1960 and 1986. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 30-35% percent new French oak. Red wines from Beaune tend to show red fruit character that can range from fine and delicate to plump and succulent, depending on the location of the vineyard. Les Cents Vignes shows fresh, pretty aromas that complement rich cherry and raspberry flavors supported by a silky texture. Xavier Monnot describes this wine as “easy to drink.”

Beaune Les toussaints 1er Cru Les Toussaints, “all saints,” lies in the northern section of the Beaune amphitheater where the wines tend to be fresher and finer than wines from the southern section. The vineyard is surrounded by some of Beaune’s larger and better-known premier crus including Grèves, Bressands and Cents Vignes. Les Toussaints tends to show a darker fruit character and fuller-body than wines from neighboring vineyards. Xavier Monnot’s 2 acre parcel was planted between 1980 and 2014.

Aged from 12 to 14 months in 30-35% percent new French oak.

voLnay CLos des Chênes 1er Cru Clos des Chênes is the largest premier cru in Volnay and sits between the premier cru of Taille Pieds and the border of Monthelie. The soil at Clos des Chênes contains a high percentage of limestone and gives a wine of perfume and finesse with an extra generosity of fruit. Half of Xavier Monnot’s 2 acre parcel was planted in 1936 with the other half planted in 1978. Aged from 12 to 14 months in 30-35% percent new French oak. Volnay is often described as silky and elegant but the wines can vary in style depending on the soil and elevation of the vineyard. The premier crus situated south of the village, like Clos des Chênes, have a high percentage of limestone and show classic Volnay character of perfume and finesse.

Maranges 1er Cru CLos de La Fussière, MonoPoLeClos de la Fussière is a 2.6 acre block within and towards the bottom of La Fussière premier cru in Dezize-les-Maranges. It is a monopole belonging to of Xavier Monnot’s family for five generations. It is a steep, south-facing site that gives a wine that is rich, fleshy and dense. Three villages at the southernmost end of the Côte de Beaune make up the Maranges AOC: Cheilly-lès-Maranges, Dezize-lès-Maranges and Sampigny-lès-Maranges. Here, we’ve transitioned out of the Côte d’Or and into the Saône-et-Loire départment. Although the soil is like that of neighboring Santenay, Maranges is not strictly east-facing and its terrain is more diverse. Maranges is often described as fleshy, rich, and characterful.