Montrachet

The name means "the bald mountain" — a literal description of a slope so limestone-rich that topsoil barely forms. In 1252, Pierre and Arnolet de Puligny gifted wines from the site, then recorded as *Mont Rachaz*, to a local abbey. That document is the earliest written evidence for the vineyard, placing its viticultural history well before the AOC era.

Le Montrachet straddles Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet in roughly equal proportions. The AOC was established in 1937, and wines from both communes are sold under the single appellation — simply "Le Montrachet" or "Montrachet" on the label.

7.99 ha in production (2008), split almost evenly across the two communes. The vineyard sits on a gentle southeast-facing slope at 260–270 metres, where limestone, clay and marl lie directly over Jurassic bedrock. That paper-thin topsoil is central to the wine's character: density and tension from the stone, amplitude from the clay, with a mineral salinity that threads through every vintage.

Only Chardonnay is permitted. Minimum potential alcohol 12.0%; yield ceiling 40 hl/ha. Annual production approximately 47,000 bottles.

Young Montrachet is reticent — tightly wound around notes of stone, citrus and brioche that open only reluctantly. Fifteen to thirty years in bottle transforms that restraint into extraordinary density and length, with honeyed, toasted complexity. The finest vintages hold at fifty years and beyond. Prices run from roughly €150 to €2,500 per bottle, a spread that reflects how decisively the producer shapes the final wine.

As of 2007, eighteen owners held parcels here — a paradigm case of a vineyard where producer identity matters as much as the appellation itself.

Marquis de Laguiche is among the largest owners on the Puligny side. The family entrusts winemaking to Maison Joseph Drouhin, and the wine reaches the market worldwide as the "Laguiche-Drouhin" Le Montrachet.

Baron Thénard holds 1.83 ha on the Chassagne side.

Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils holds an important parcel and bottles the wine under its own label.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti acquired its 0.67 ha parcel in 1980. Production amounts to just 200–300 bottles per year — among the rarest and most expensive whites produced anywhere in Burgundy.

Domaine Comtes Lafon, the benchmark house in Meursault, makes a Montrachet that has drawn some of the appellation's highest scores over recent decades.

Domaine Leflaive, the leading Puligny estate for white wines, holds a small parcel and brings its signature precision to the vineyard.

Château de Puligny-Montrachet, Prieur, Ramonet, Colin-Deléger, Fontaine-Gagnard and Guy Amiot each hold additional parcels, contributing interpretations that trace the full breadth of the vineyard's potential.