The 2016 Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots offer light scents of yellow stone fruit on the nose with a touch of dried mango. The palate is well balanced with good depth, quite saline in the mouth although like several other wines from Maison Montille, I was seeking more tension on the finish.

The 2010 Meursault Les Poruzots is another of the bigger, more exuberant 2010s here. Layers of fruit saturate the palate in this structured, mineral-infused white. This is a dazzling beauty of a wine. Anticipated maturity: 2014+. (Not yet released) Alix de Montille is going for a taut style with the whites she makes at the Domaine and at Deux Montille, the negociant operation she runs with her brother Etienne. The 2009s are quite strong across the board. Unfortuantely I was only able to taste a partial lineup of the 2010s (for both the Domaine and Deux Montille) as several of the wines were still in malo. Based on what I tasted in barrel, 2010 is a much more exciting vintage here, and one that gave de Montille the perfect conditions to make wines in her style. The 2010s show enormous promise. I can hardly wait to taste them in finished form. The wines from Domaine de Montille are reviewed separately. Various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808

The 2009 Meursault Les Poruzots emerges from the glass with white flowers, pears and citrus. This is an especially chiseled, taut 2009 graced with terrific energy and focus. The fruit fleshes out nicely on the mid-palate, but this remains an essentially pointed wine that will benefit from further bottle age. This is all elegance. Anticipated maturity: 2013+. Alix de Montille is going for a taut style with the whites she makes at the Domaine and at Deux Montille, the negociant operation she runs with her brother Etienne. The 2009s are quite strong across the board. Unfortuantely I was only able to taste a partial lineup of the 2010s (for both the Domaine and Deux Montille) as several of the wines were still in malo. Based on what I tasted in barrel, 2010 is a much more exciting vintage here, and one that gave de Montille the perfect conditions to make wines in her style. The 2010s show enormous promise. I can hardly wait to taste them in finished form. The wines from Domaine de Montille are reviewed separately. Various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808

The Deux Montille 2007 Meursault Poruzots – from old vines adjacent to those farmed by Alix de Montille's husband Jean-Marc Roulot – smells and tastes piquantly of lightly-toasted walnut and hazelnut, accompanied by ripe, succulent peach and bright lemon that steer this chalk- and stone-paved, bitterly nutty, and subtly cyanic Meursault clear of austerity. Though super-concentrated and palpably dense, this wine displays some textural give, and finishes with a striking sense of lift as well as persistent refreshment. It certainly seems a candidate for a half dozen or more years of bottle age, and I would be inclined to leave it alone until at least 2011. In the course of its six years, this negociant business of siblings has mourned the loss of a few excellent contracts, but continues to be an expanding source of impeccably rendered, consistently nuanced (and almost exclusively white) Burgundies. Alix de Montille puts special emphasis on ferreting out excellent sites in the less fashionable villages of the Cote d'Or, as well as in the Cote Chalonnaise. The resulting wines are expensive relative to their appellations but not to their quality. (For more about Alix de Montille's approach – avowedly influenced by that of her husband, Jean-Marc Roulot – readers are urged to consult my report in issue 180.) Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040; also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29

The Deux Montille 2006 Meursault Poruzots – from old vines – offers smoky, nutty, peachy aromas. Dense and honeyed in its richness, with peach kernel bitterness and fresh grapefruit offering counterpoint, this finishes with chalky, smoky, zesty intensity, evincing a real sense of depth, if not the elegance or notable lift of the corresponding Charmes. This should keep well for at least 5-7 years. The small, five year old negociant business of siblings Alix and Etienne de Montille is designed to remain small and to focus almost exclusively on white wines. Alix de Montille (who is also responsible for the whites of Domaine de Montille) has been avowedly influenced by her husband, Jean-Marc Roulot, and clarity, purity, and refinement are the watchwords in this cellar. “I like lively wines,” she explains, “just as I like lively people.” De Montille has had notable success in sourcing and exercising the necessary quality control over exemplary fruit from some of Burgundy’s less prestigious appellation, although experience has shown that such contracts can be as difficult to maintain as those that govern more celebrated sites. De Montille performed no batonnage, and generally shortened her 2006’s stays in barrel (overwhelmingly demi-muids, 10-20% new). A number of the wines were in tank, waiting bottling, when I tasted them. (A powerful Pouilly-Fuisse from two excellent sites in Vergisson, as well as a rich, promising St.-Aubin Sur Gamay could not be fairly assessed while on their finings; a Chevalier-Montrachet of enormous potential was not re-tasted after malo-lactic; and there were several wines I did not taste at all.) Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040; also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29