Visit Jean-Marc Millot, Tasting of the 2015s from cask

Domaine Jean-Marc Millot is a Burgundian delight .. yet somehow I tend to forget and neglect these lovely wines – this must stop now! – these wines with such a joyful drinkability deserves a place in most collectors cellar.

I always love to visit new estates – and while I know the wines from Jean-Marc Millot quite well via the Danish importer Domaine Brandis, this was the first visit at Domaine Jean-Marc Millot in the southern part of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

I was received by Jean-Marc Millot and his daughter Alix Millot, who is now working at the family estate. They greeted me in a very friendly and informal atmosphere – much like the wines greet and welcome you when you enjoy them – this is a very sympathetic estate.

I was very eager to taste the 2015s after tasting the lovely 2014s a month back in Denmark – I was very impressed by the 2014s as they offer such a lovely drinkability and are priced very well in the market considering the high quality.

The 2015s is for the most parts another step up in quality compared to the excellent 2014s, adding weight and depth. The Millot wines are on the elegant and slightly light-footed side – and the concentration in a vintage like 2015 tend to take things up at notch.

The wines are detailed and transparent – and are mostly kept on the cool side, with a fine freshness and expression of terroir. These wines will provide serious hedonistic bang for the buck over the next two decades … as they drink so beautifully.

The drinkability paradox

I often see collectors tend to disregards wines like the ones from Jean-Marc Millot due to the accommodating and forward style. I never understood this, as these wines has one of the main qualities a Burgundian wine should offer – drinkability and hedonistic pleasure. Furthermore they offer this in a wide drinking window – what is not to like here?. Strangely the same people often are the ones who drink top end Grand Crus at a closed stage shortly after release – with no respect of the wines potential.

It’s in my view important that collectors stop focusing on ageing potential and start to focus on drinking potential. Most of the wines I have acquired and cellared for the last 15 years or more have yet to reach a mature stage – so the ageing potential is abundant for most parts. I would in fact be happy if some red Burgundies would mature quicker – but I do respect that this is not the case.

After this moral excursion – to the tasting notes!

Tasting notes for the 2015s from Jean-Marc Millot

All the wines showed well aside from a little reduction – the Bourgogne Rouge and the Côte de Nuits Village “Aux Faulques” was just prepared for bottling – so perhaps not showing at their best form – so they could in fact be better than reviewed below – I hope to re-taste these at some point.

First wine – the Jean-Marc Millot Bourgogne Rouge 2015 – as mentioned just transferred to a large tank preparing for bottling, so not the ideal time to taste this wine. It’s however showing well – a rich and quite intense wine for this level with plenty of seductive fruit – a bit unfocused – presumably due to the preparing for bottling. It has the forward freshness of the house style, and is quite weighty due to the vintage. Will no doubt offer lovely drinking over the next years. A lovely and Good (85 – 86p) entry level Burgundy.

The Cote de Nuits Village “Aux Faulques” 2015 was also prepared for bottling – so a bit difficult to taste. A big and burly wine – rich and ripe offering a lot of wine at this level. The terroir in Comblanchien is very interesting – see terroir insight – and offer i fine complexity not often found in Côte de Nuits Villages. The 2015 is a ripe wine with plenty of red and dark fruits – notes of blueberries, raspberries, dark cherries, plum and liquorice – weighty yet balanced – a lot of wine at this level – Good+ (86 – 87p).

The Savigny-Les Beaune 2015 village is offering more highly toned red fruit and is more forward and focused than the two first wines. The bouquet offer fine fresh red energetic fruit brought forward by a classic Savigny minerality. On the palate rich fruit – elegant and with a nice balancing acidity – the finish offer a nice impression of the terroir. A lovely intensity for this level – will no doubt offer excellent drinking – Good+ (86 – 87p).

The Vosne-Romanée village – made from plots in La Violette and Maizieres Basses is quite a step up in quality and a truly delightful glass. The bouquet offer a lovely collection of red and dark berries – finely spiced with violets and a hint of rose petals. On the palate – slightly reduced – rich with a juicy red fruit offering fine energy and verve and a very good concentration. The mid-palate is generous and quite seductive with all the qualities I love from a Millot wine – Very Good indeed (89 – 91p) a truly delightful wine.

The Vosne-Romanee Suchots 2015 from Millot is the overachiever in this vintage – a magnificent effort. In general Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots has offered ideal conditions in 2015 – and it seems like Millot has made the most of these opportunities. The nose is bursting with juicy and energetic red fruit – floral and forward offering a lovely display of minerality and Vosne spices. On the palate generous and vibrant mid-palate fruit – airy with a lovely energy and freshness – fine notes of red currant and pomegranate – love the refined and filigree minerality of the finely located plot near the Cathiard holdings of Suchots. A Very Fine (92 – 93p) Les Suchots in the making … a hedonistic delight.

The Echezeaux 2015 is a refined and light-footed and filigree delight – made from plots in Echézeaux du Dessus, Poulaillères and Clos St. Denis. This is a not a power Echezeaux but a wine offering a very refined expression of the 2015 vintage. The nose offer delicate sweet red fruit – ripe yet both delicate, filigree and fresh with a very pure expression of both the fruit and the fine terroir. On the palate very seductive and fine, offering a very exquisite and graceful display of the fruit and minerality – airy and very filigree. Refinement incarnated – Very Fine (93 – 94p)

The Clos de Vougeott is yet another step up in quality – a very attractive wine. The bouquet is offering lovely red fruit with a vibrant juicy energy and a nice display of earthy minerality – this is coming from a finely located plot in Grand Maupertui – just below Grands-Echezeaux. Oak is a bit forward as Clos de Vougeot normally absorbs the wood a bit slowly – so nothing to worry about. On the palate lovely acidity for the vintage – delightful balance and a very energetic mid-palate fruit – not a monumental Clos de Vougeot – but a very refined effort offering the juicy qualities I’m looking for in the 2015 vintage. Very Fine Indeed (93 – 95p) – such a balanced effort.

The Grands Echezeaux is a seductive and compelling wine with plenty of ripe and sweet fruit – but still keeping it’s cool and energy. The bouquet is offering layers of delightful red fruits – sweet forest berries with energetic and vibrant hints of red currant – exuberant with a lovely depth – classic Grands Echezeaux. On the palate rich, velvet and abundant with a flirtatious hedonistic feel … not playing hard to get .. but still offering a lot of detail and depth. Lovely energy and balance – what can I say – seduced to say Outstanding (94 – 95p) – decadently joyful.

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Tasting Notes for this producer

• Domaine Tessier, Bourgogne Blanc “Champ-Perrier” 2014 May 10, 2017
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Charmes-Dessus 2010 December 23, 2016
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Genevrieres 2013 October 8, 2016
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Genevrieres 2011 August 30, 2016
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Charmes-Dessus 2010 June 2, 2016
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Genevrieres 2011 December 28, 2015
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Genevrieres 2011 June 7, 2015
• Domaine Tessier, Meursault Charmes-Dessus 2010 March 7, 2015
• Domaine Arnaud Tessier, Meursault Charmes Dessus 2010 April 15, 2013
• Arnaud Tessier, Meursault Charmes-Dessus 2008 October 24, 2012
• Domaine Arnaud Tessier, Le Poruzot Dessus 2008 August 20, 2012
• Domaine Arnaud Tessier, Meursault Genevrieres 2009 June 23, 2012

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