Monthelie
Monthelie
A small village whose economy is almost entirely reliant on wine and viticulture, Monthelie is an appellation located in the Cote de Beaune region of Burgundy. With a village population of just 200, the appellation produces 65,000 bottles of wine every year from roughly 120 hectares of vineyards, the bulk of which are devoted to Pinot Noir. Monthelie has 15 climats designated Premier Cru, mainly clustered around its border with neighbouring Volnay. Like all of the best sites in Burgundy the fine limestone-clay soils and southerly aspects provide optimum growing conditions and define the quality of the fruit. Monthelie's Pinot Noir is thought of as feminine in nature, with soft red and black fruits giving way to velvety tannin and lingering floral notes and spice. Bottle age allows the tannin to soften and savoury notes to emerge. If you can find them, the Chardonnay wines of Monthelie are similar to those of neighbouring Meursault with a full, opulent character and flavours of citrus, hazelnut and honeysuckle.
