Joshua London has been drinking, writing, consulting and speaking professionally about kosher wines and spirits for over 20 years. Alongside his expertise in the category, he is also a club member of Honest Grapes.
Last night I had the pleasure of a wonderful private tasting of the 2024 vintage of the kosher wines of Domaine de Montille (demontille.com), one of Burgundy’s most esteemed estates. Founded in Volnay in the 1730s and still family-run, Domaine de Montille occupies a position of rare stature in Burgundy, excelling equally in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Within the kosher wine world, its quality, pedigree, and consistency are quite simply without parallel.
The tasting was led by the ever-gracious Nathan Hill, co-founder and Chairman of Honest Grapes (honestgrapes.co.uk), the award-winning UK wine retailer and buying club. Nathan was also the driving force behind the kosher production with de Montille, as well as the kosher wines of JCP Maltus in Bordeaux, a contribution to the category that deserves real recognition!
This was, for me, something of a make-up tasting, as I had sadly missed the official event the evening before — when Hannah, Richard, Simon, Paul, and other RCCUK chevra had very nearly polished the lot off. Nathan kindly saved just enough to allow us to taste together.
The tasting was conducted en primeur, meaning the wines were drawn directly from barrel or tank and are neither finished nor bottled. This offers rare early access to limited-production, highly sought-after wines, but also requires a recalibration of expectations: what one is tasting is structure, energy, and intent rather than polish.
The 2024 vintage in Burgundy was a challenging one. Persistent rainfall from April through June created ideal conditions for mildew, which spread widely across the region, reducing yields and overall production. As ever, however, outstanding producers — Domaine de Montille very much among them! — appear almost incapable of making unworthy wines, even in difficult years.
For those who cannot wait any longer for the bottom line: these 2024 Domaine de Montille kosher wines are exceptional!
There are fewer wines and fewer bottles than usual (vintage-driven), and they will almost certainly sell out quickly. I strongly encourage anyone interested in Burgundy to visit www.honestgrapes.co.uk without delay and secure allocations while they still can.
If cellar space is a concern, fear not: the wines are not yet bottled and will not be available for delivery until late autumn 2027 at the earliest. Plan accordingly, and make room the way G-d intended, by sharing your wines generously with friends, family and loved ones. Note: If you wait until the official release for these 2024 de Montille wines, you will almost certainly find that allocations are gone, and one shudders to imagine what secondary-market pricing may look like.
Below are the wines with my notes.
--WHITES--
Domaine de Montille, Monthelie 1er Cru 'Les Duresses', 2024:
A fresh, expressive nose offering a mélange of bright citrus and stone fruit, layered with still-emerging hints of honeysuckle. On the palate, salinity, gently muted fruit, fine texture and precise acidity come together to convey real verve and succulence, underpinned by a pleasing sense of tension. Already inviting yet clearly still very young, this is a complex wine whose balance and energy point to lovely things ahead.
Domaine de Montille, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Les Chalumeaux', 2024:
A hugely expressive bouquet of citrus, white flowers and wet stone, lifted by pronounced struck-match notes. The palate is complex and playfully textured, presently on the lean side but impressively pure, with stone fruit and a suggestion of tropical nuance emerging beneath the surface. Serious and structured, it builds towards an absorbing, near-mesmerising finish—long, saline-driven and still slightly austere. A wine of tremendous promise.
--REDS--
Domaine de Montille, Beaune 1er Cru 'Les Perrières', 2024:
Showing a transient aromatic funk at this stage, the wine is lively, almost feisty, brimming with energy and barely contained in the glass. The nose offers red and blue fruits layered with spice, rose petals and distinct notes of garrigue (wild Mediterranean scrub brush). On the palate, it is bright, juicy and finely layered, combining freshness with real complexity and balance. Already delicious, yet clearly built for development, it should begin to properly show its range of character in five to six years, with greater depth and poise emerging probably after around 8 years. Delicious!
Domaine de Montille, Volnay 1er Cru 'Les Brouillards', 2024:
This is… wow! Already unmistakable in character despite its youth, the nose is perfumed and refined, offering floral lift and a seamless weave of red, blue and darker berry fruit. On the palate, the wine is succulent yet finely detailed, combining purity of fruit with a supple texture, bright acidity and attractive inner tension. There is real depth and composure beneath the immediacy, leading to a lingering, gently saline finish. Still very much in formation, but already beautiful — and seemingly destined for even greater expression. A real Burgundian’s Burgundy!
Domaine de Montille, Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots, 2023:
A formidable yet finely built wine, marrying structure and power with striking vibrancy. Still tightly coiled at this stage, it clearly demands time for hibernation and resolution, but its quality is already unmistakable. Muscular, ripe tannins frame deep, opulent red and some dark fruit, shot through with brightness and energy. The profile is complex and exuberant with brambly berries, a hint of game, and serious heft, yet everything feels controlled and driven. A tremendous Grands Épenots Pommard, destined to unfurl with patience.
IN SHORT, if you enjoy fine wine, have the means, and are inclined towards Burgundy at its most serious and expressive, these are wines you will want to own. Buy now, before they are gone.
Joshua London, Wine Writer and Club Member @joshuaelondon
