Maison De Montille, Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Fourchaumes', Domaine de Montille, 2021
Maison De Montille, Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Fourchaumes', Domaine de Montille, 2021
- 75cl
- 12.5%
- White Still
- Chardonnay
- Organic
- Biodynamic
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Optimal drinking window: Now - 2033
About Maison De Montille, Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Fourchaumes', Domaine de Montille, 2021
Domaine de Montille is one of Burgundy’s most revered estates and this burgeoning family property is very much at the top of its game, producing wines of exceptional quality: scintillating, proper Burgundies, unusually across both reds and whites.
Always one of the highlights of de Montille's maison wines, Fourchaumes is one of Chablis' most vaunted 1er Cru vineyards.
The 2021 vintage in Chablis produced wines of real tension and natural acidity, and this Fourchaumes is no exception. It's drinking well now — the primary fruit is generous and the mineral character is already singing — but the wine has more to say with time. Over the next two to three years the struck-flint reduction will fully integrate and the mid-palate will fill out, gaining a waxy, honeyed depth while retaining its freshness. Peak drinking is probably in the window from 2027 to 2032, when the acidity and fruit should be in perfect equilibrium. Hold much beyond 2033 and you're gambling on storage rather than gaining meaningful complexity.
Tasting Notes
AppearancePale gold with a bright, slightly green-tinged rim — classic young Chablis.
NoseThere's that unmistakable Chablis oyster-shell quality upfront, cut through with white peach, lemon curd, and a flinty, struck-match edge that speaks directly to the limestone beneath the vines. With a little air, some white blossom and a hint of crushed chalk emerge. It's precise and restrained rather than showy.
PalateFourchaumes shows its warmer aspect here — there's real texture and weight to the mid-palate, with ripe pear and green apple filling out the frame before the acidity tightens everything on the back end. The mineral thread runs through from start to finish, pulling the wine long and focused rather than fat. 2021 gave Chablis exceptional natural acidity, and you feel that here — it's a wine with real backbone.
FinishLong, saline, and stony — the finish lingers with a citrus pith bite that keeps you reaching for another sip.
Overall impressionA serious, site-expressive premier cru that combines Fourchaumes' natural generosity with the taut, electric 2021 vintage to excellent effect.
Food Pairings
In Chablis, this would be poured without a second thought alongside a plateau de fruits de mer — oysters above all, since the wine's salinity and the oyster's brine are essentially the same conversation. Locally, andouillette grillée is a classic match, the wine's acidity cutting through the richness without flinching. Jambon persillé from neighbouring Burgundy works beautifully, as does a simple roast chicken with tarragon butter. Further afield, turbot or Dover sole with a beurre blanc is close to a perfect pairing — the wine has the weight to stand up to the sauce and the freshness to keep the fish alive on the palate.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 10-12°C — cold enough to feel refreshing but not so cold that it shuts down the mineral complexity. No need to decant at this stage, though giving it twenty minutes in the glass will open it up considerably. A tulip-shaped white Burgundy glass, rather than a wide-bowled option, will focus the aromatics and keep the wine's precision intact.
Les Fourchaumes sits on the right bank of the Serein river, on slopes of Kimmeridgian limestone and clay — the same ancient seabed geology that defines the greatest Chablis. The vineyard faces south to southwest, which gives it more warmth than most premier cru sites and contributes to a rounder, more generous expression than the steelier left-bank vineyards. That warmth is kept honest by Chablis' continental climate, with cold winters and warm, dry summers that preserve the acidity essential to the appellation's character. The result is Chablis with both grip and generosity — a combination that rewards a few years in bottle.
Chablis Premier Cru is the middle tier of the Chablis quality pyramid, sitting above straight Chablis but below the seventeen grand cru plots that occupy the famous right-bank slopes north of the town. There are forty recognised premier cru lieu-dits, though many are consolidated under seventeen principal names, of which Fourchaumes is among the most prestigious and widely planted. The appellation demands Chardonnay grown on Kimmeridgian or Portlandian limestone soils, with yields capped lower than village Chablis, and the wines typically show more concentration and longevity than their appellation-level counterparts. Premier cru Chablis occupies an interesting middle ground: more mineral and taut than white Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune, yet richer and more layered than simple Chablis.
The 2021 growing season in Burgundy started badly and got worse before pulling off one of wine's great escapes. Spring frost in April devastated vineyards across the Côte d'Or, followed by a summer that alternated between biblical downpours and scorching heat. Many producers lost 50% or more of their crop to the frost alone, then watched hail batter what remained in some unlucky villages. By August, with rot creeping through rain-soaked vineyards, even the most optimistic vignerons were writing off the vintage.
What emerged from this chaos surprised everyone: wines with remarkable freshness and purity, if you can find them. The tiny yields meant those grapes that survived were intensely concentrated, while the September sunshine saved the day with perfect ripening conditions. We find the reds show beautiful fruit clarity without heaviness, drinking with an immediacy that makes them irresistible now but promising a decade or more of evolution. The whites are particularly stunning, with a mineral intensity that cuts through their richness. Yes, there's not much 2021 Burgundy about, and yes, it's expensive, but this is one of those vintages where disaster bred greatness.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Think white peach, lemon curd, and green apple, all running along a spine of oyster-shell minerality and struck flint. Fourchaumes is one of Chablis' more generous premier cru sites, so there's real texture here alongside the acidity. The 2021 vintage adds an extra layer of precision and freshness.
When should I drink this wine?
It's drinking well now and will continue to do so until around 2032. If you want it at its most expressive, give it another year or two in bottle — the mineral complexity will deepen and the mid-palate will fill out. There's no need to rush, but equally no need to lock it away for a decade.
Is the 2021 vintage a good one for Chablis?
One of the best in recent memory. Frost in April reduced yields significantly, but the wines that made it through are taut, precise, and built with exceptional natural acidity. For premier cru Chablis with cellar potential, 2021 is a very strong vintage to be buying.
What food should I serve with this?
Oysters are the classic match and for good reason — the wine's salinity and the oyster's brine are made for each other. Beyond that, turbot or Dover sole with beurre blanc, roast chicken with tarragon, or a simple plateau of charcuterie and comté will all work very well.
How should I serve it?
Serve at 10-12°C in a tulip-shaped white Burgundy glass. No decanting required, but give it twenty minutes in the glass and it will open up noticeably. Avoid serving it too cold — below 8°C and the mineral complexity closes down.
How does Domaine de Montille's Chablis fit with the rest of their range?
De Montille is primarily known as one of Burgundy's great red wine estates, so it's easy to overlook what they do in Chablis. Fourchaumes is consistently one of the highlights of their maison range — it has the same precision and sense of place that defines their Volnay and Pommard, just expressed through Chablis' entirely different idiom. Well worth seeking out.
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