Domaine de Montille is among Burgundy's most iconic estates, with a long and fabled history dating back to 1730s. Hubert helped to put the domaine on the map and in the top echelon of Burgundy estates. Hubert’s son, Etienne, joined the domaine in 1983. By 1995, he was officially co-managing alongside his father but in charge of most of the day-to-day decisions. One of Etienne’s first decisions was to convert the estate to organic farming, starting in 1995. Ten years later, in 2005, they began implementing biodynamic techniques as well, and soon thereafter sought official organic certification, which they earned in 2012.

The winemaking at de Montille has evolved over the years, and the resulting wines are certainly much less austere in their youth than in the Hubert era. In general, there are no “winemaking recipes”, so each vintage receives its own regimen that corresponds to that vintage’s conditions. On the red side, that usually means a good dose of whole cluster. Macerations are 12 to 16 days, with pigeages usually twice a day and new wood is kept to a minimum.

On the white side, grapes tend to be picked on the early side for energy and freshness to give the wines both focus and delineation as well as texture and mid-palate. New oak is judicious, usually no more than 20-25%. The wines are aged on their lees in wood for 11-12 months, and then held in tank for 5-6 months to come together and gain focus before bottling. 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.