Au Pied du Mont Chauve : Saint-Aubin 1er cru "Pitangerets" 2020

The vivacity and structure of a Pinot Noir from Saint-Aubin

The estate

Daughter of one of the greatest winemaking families in Burgundy, Francine Picard took over in the late 1990s the estate historically run by her father. Domaine Au Pied du Mont Chauve extends across the villages of Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin, at the heart of the finest climats and terroirs of winemaking Burgundy.

With a desire for synergy between the land and the wines, Francine Picard cultivates her parcels according to the principles of biodynamics and works with passion and extreme care to produce wines that reflect the identity of their terroir. Grown on a 110-hectare vineyard managed through "agro-ecology", the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of Domaine Au Pied du Mont Chauve are renowned for their quality, precision and elegance. Since May 2019, Antoine Lepetit de la Bigne, a specialist in biodynamic viticulture, has joined the Domaine's team as Technical Director.

The vineyard

The Pitangerets climat, located within the Saint-Aubin appellation, lies at the foot of the slope, nestled between the Chassagne quarry and the Montrachet hill. The terroir is characterised by a soil rich in limestone with a significant amount of limestone scree resulting from the erosion of the bedrock. The Pinot Noir vines were planted in the mid-1980s. This 0.35-hectare vineyard is cultivated according to the principles of biodynamics, with the use of preparations 500 and 500P, as well as decoctions of horsetail, nettle, willow and silica. The soil benefits from natural grass cover and mechanical working.

Vinification and ageing

The grapes for the Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "Pitangerets" are hand-harvested in small crates and then sorted on a table. After 100% destemming, the whole berries are transferred to the vats via stainless steel trolleys to avoid any crushing or pumping. Vinification follows the traditional Burgundian method in open, temperature-controlled vats. Ageing takes place over fifteen months in Burgundian barrels, including 15% new oak in Burgundian pièces and 75% in 350-litre casks (50% from 2019 and 50% having held more than 3 wines).

Grape variety

Pinot Noir (100%).