One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While practically every country in the wine producing world grows it, Chardonnay from itsBurgundianhomeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. As far as cellar potential, white Burgundy rivals the worlds other age-worthy whites like Riesling or botrytized Semillon.Californiais Chardonnays second most important home, where both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines enjoy great popularity. Oregon, Australia and South America are also significant producers of Chardonnay. Producer Information Domaine de Montille is one of the rare Burgundy estates that excels in both reds and whites, as well as both Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits, not to mention all the rest of Burgundy with the Maison de Montille project. The evolution of the winery from the 2.5 HA it was when Hubert took over to the breadth and scope of the winery today is one of the great accomplishments in the recent history of this famed region. It couldn’t have been achieved save for the hard work and visionary talents of Etienne de Montille who has ushered this estate to the top echelons of today. But of course, Etienne is never one to rest on his laurels, and he has set his sights on two other winemaking projects: the first, called Racines, is based in the Santa Rita Hills appellation in Southern California and done in conjunction with his winemaker Brian Sieve as well as Rudolf Peters of Pierre Peters in Champagne; and the second, perhaps even more “outside the box”, is a project in the Southern Hokkaido area in Japan where he has planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir starting in 2019.
