Visit Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, Tasting of the 2016s from cask

Rising star, rising this and rising that ..!!.. as a wine journalist one have to find new estates as new stars and rising talents all the time.

This is the way the trade works – but in fact we sometimes tend to forget the less flamboyant producers, who are producing excellent wines year after year – minding their own business.

Jean-Marc Millot is such a guy – modest, softly spoken – producing his delightfully pure and detailed wines year after year – no fuzz aside from the occasional aerobatic stunts over Nuits-Saint-Georges.

In comes his daughter Alix Millot who has joined Jean-Marc at the estate with a more extrovert and confident appearance. This does somehow change the game – more awareness – and perhaps also some inspiration to push the quality upwards, and the ambition to take the estate to the next level. It’s great to see father and daughter working together as a team .. pursuing even better wines.

The quality has in my view been improved over the years, but I think the last few vintages has taken quality to the next level, while maintaining the delicate style of the estate.

The profile has sharpened and as this happened it has opened the eyes of collectors to this fine estate.

Understated rather than statements

The wines from Domaine Jean-Marc Millot are as mentioned before a Burgundian delight. They are made with a light hand – low extraction, moderate use of new oak and a quite light toasting of the oak.

The result is wines driven by pure pinot fruit, transparent and thus expressing the terroirs beautifully. In the past the wines have been considered somewhat on the light side. But in recent years the concentration seem to have taken a notch up, hence adding more intensity and mid-palate weight. A part of this is most likely contributed by the effects of global warming.

Back to taste the 2016s from Domaine Jean-Marc Millot

So back at Domaine Jean-Marc Millot on a super hot June day – to taste the 2016s. Last visit was in November 2016 – when I tasted the excellent 2015s … so I was actually able to find the estate buildings quite easily this time, and I was received by Alix Millot, who was just back from the vineyards.

The 2016s vs the 2015s

As at other estates I was very eager to see how the 2016s would compare with the ripe and mighty 2015s.

The 2015s are very balanced at Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, with no tendency to be too big or too much. In a few wines the alcohol level were a bit on the high side in the 2015 vintage, but in reality this did not pose a problem as the 2015 vintage seem to overcome this, without clouding the expression and definition of the terroir in the wines.

Tasting Notes for this producer

• Jean-Marc Millot, Clos de Vougeot 2014 October 15, 2016
• Jean-Marc Millot, Echezeaux 2014 October 15, 2016
• Jean-Marc Millot, Cote de Nuits Village “Aux Faulques” 2014 September 30, 2016
• Jean-Marc Millot, Bourgogne 2014 September 30, 2016
• Jean-Marc Millot, Grands Echezeaux 2002 December 2, 2011

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