2012 Chassagne Montrachet Grandes Ruchottes

The 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes is a tad more reticent than the Les Caillerets but it opens nicely with lime flower and fresh pear scents. The palate is nicely balanced with a fine citric core of fruit, touches of dried apricot and quince; then eases down toward a refined, quite feminine finish. Thierry and Chrystelle Pillot presently run Domaine Paul Pillot. As you might guess, their family is related to that of Domaine Fernand & Laurent Pillot (digging around Jasper Morris’s indispensible “Inside Burgundy” their respective branches stem from Alphonse Pillot, born in 1901.) I have been enjoying this domaine’s wines for a number of years now and their 2012s are studded with some excellent wines. Importer: no known US importer but available through Howard Ripley in the UK.