Discovering delicious, unsung gems is a big part of the fun and pleasure of Bourgogne wines. The 2019 Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain is just such a bottle: a high quality red wine available at a terrific price and ready for immediate enjoyment with friends and casual foods.
THE GLORIES OF OLD VINES AND HARD WORK
The wine comes from talented, youthful winegrower Alix Millot. She uses a “field blend” of Pinot Noir and Gamay vines planted by her great grandfather over seventy years ago. The vineyard lies in the commune of Flagey across from the famed Clos Vougeot grand cru vineyard just on the other side of route D974 (formally Route National 74). Since this modest Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain comes from a vineyard on the “other side of the road,” most wine consumers and many retailers overlook it. That’s a mistake given Millot’s devotion to the vines.
“The vines are indeed a legacy of the estate, and now it’s more sentimental than pecuniary,” Alix says. “I almost sell these wines at a loss given the work done with them.”
The vines’ advanced ages diminish grape yields. This results in fewer bottles to sell and less revenue. But the old vines’ intensely flavored and complex grapes create the opportunity to produce terrific wines.
“The vineyard soils are clay and limestone with a large majority of clay,” Millot says. “These soils tend to give vigor to the vines, but we have quality because the old vines produce small, high quality berries.”
This opportunity motivates Millot and her team to work with passion and precision. Their manual work and attention to detail for every Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain vine match their careful work in the estate’s more prestigious holdings. Moreover, Alix treats the whole Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain vineyard in a labor intensive, organic approach. The seeds for Alix’s passion for excellence took root early.
BECOMING A VIGNERONNE
She grew up seeing the difficulties and rewards of the life of a winegrower with her father Jean-Marc Millot. He first started bottling the domaine’s wines in 1992. The move brought the risk of selling bottled wines rather then simply selling fruit upfront to négociants for a quick pay out. Jean-Marc’s idea was to reap the rewards of his team’s hard work in the vineyards.
While absorbing her family’s winegrowing culture, Alix traveled the D972 from Nuits Saint Georges to nearby Beaune to study winegrowing at the Lycée Viticole wine school. She then obtained an Oenologist Technician diploma in Dijon before traveling to New Zealand to broaden her horizons with a winemaking internship.
Returning home, Alix worked side-by-side with Jean-Marc in 2014 and 2015, and then she took the reins in 2016. Spring frosts and damaging Summer hail challenged Alix in her premier vintage. Undeterred, she moved forward in stride. Alix relishes each year as a challenge and opportunity to improve.
“You learn by making the wines while always trying to get closer to the wines you like to drink and the style you want to give,” she says. “It’s a job every year and nothing can be acquired before for it. You have to question your colleagues and other winemakers with whom you work.”
Millot typifies the new generation of winegrowers. As a group, they willingly share knowledge and learn from colleagues both inside and outside of Bourgogne. Consequently, they embrace a more open approach compared to prior decades. And in the case of Alix’s 2019 Domaine Jean-Marc Millot, Bourgogne-Passetougrain, it helped give her the courage and commitment to produce such a lovely wine from a modest and undervalued appellation.
A NATURAL APPROACH IN THE CELLAR
After manually harvesting the Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain fruit, Alix ferments the blend of 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Gamay in whole clusters, stems and all. She relies on indigenous yeasts. First and foremost, she strives to allow the fruit to shine as naturally as possible.
“Since 2019, I have been making a few cuvées of natural wines to diversify myself a little and above all to promote the small appellations, ” Alix says. “This is especially true with making the Bourgogne-Aligoté and the Bourgogne-Passetoutgrain.”
Sticking to this low intervention approach, the wine ages in older barrels of 4 to 5 years. In the 2020 vintage, Alix even aged part of the cuvée in clay amphora. Bottling occurs without either fining and filtering. Again the pure fruit stands front and center.
THE WINE IN THE GLASS
In the glass, the 2019 Domaine Jean=Marc Millot, Bourgogne-Passetoutrain opens with a dark ruby color and offers aromas of ripe plums, raspberries and little griotte cherries. Pleasant earthy touches and subtle, ripe stemminess add enticing complexity. On the palate, juicy, ripe red and black fruits with medium concentration layer with uplifting, fresh acidity. Fine, silky tannins add backbone for the wine’s fruity finish. Yum! Miam! Easy drinking. Glou, glou.
Just for fun, invite your friends and pair this tasty wine with charcuterie sausages, French cheeses such as pungent, runny Époisses and crusty baguettes. Or try it with Foie de Veau with a red wine and caramelized onion sauce.
The bottle is available at various U.S. retailers for around $27. Check www.wineseracher.com for availability. The always reliable Skurnik Wines imports Domaine Jean-Marc Millot’s wines to the U.S.
Cheeers!