Domaine Michel Niellon : Chevalier-Montrachet Grand cru 2022

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for the 2022 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru from Domaine Michel Niellon

Tasting

Color

In its youth, this Chevalier-Montrachet displays a pale straw-yellow hue with subtle green glints. With bottle age, the color is expected to deepen progressively toward a richer gold, while retaining brightness thanks to its well-preserved acidity.

Nose

The nose opens with a concentrated and precise bouquet, built around finely crushed limestone and a chalky minerality. Ripe apple, white peach and quince mingle with notes of beeswax and almond, while white flowers add a delicate floral touch to this complex and layered aromatic profile.

Palate

The palate reveals a full, dense texture supported by finely tuned acidity that keeps the wine tense and precise despite its richness. A silky yet firm mouthfeel, underscored by a measured proportion of new oak, leads into a long, saline finish where ripe fruit and chalky minerality linger with remarkable persistence.

Food and wine pairings

This Chevalier-Montrachet pairs beautifully with noble seafood such as lobster, scallops, turbot or sole served with delicate buttery or creamy sauces. It is equally well suited to white meats and poultry prepared with cream and mushroom sauces, where the wine's richness and saline freshness bring balance to the dish.

Serving and cellaring

Serve the Chevalier-Montrachet 2022 at a temperature of around 12 to 14°C. In its youth, a brief decanting of one to two hours may help open its aromatic expression. This grand cru is built for long-term cellaring and can be enjoyed until around 2042.

The Estate

Domaine Michel Niellon, officially established as a bottling estate in the 1960s, is located in Chassagne-Montrachet, in the heart of Burgundy's Côte de Beaune. The property spans about 7.5 hectares, planted mainly with chardonnay alongside some pinot noir. Since the death of founder Michel Niellon in 2020, the estate has been led by his son-in-law, Michel Coutoux, with the fourth generation, Mathieu Bresson and Lucie Coutoux, already involved. Known as a benchmark for white Burgundy, the domaine holds tiny, prized parcels in the Chevalier-Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet grand crus.

The Vineyard

The Chevalier-Montrachet comes from a tiny parcel of roughly 0.23 hectare planted entirely with chardonnay. The vines were planted in 1961-1962, giving them a venerable age of over sixty years. Located on the Chassagne-Montrachet hillside, the plot benefits from stony, calcareous soils and a favorable exposure that, combined with low yields and deep-rooted old vines, contribute to the concentration and precision found in the finished wine.

The Vintage

The 2022 growing season in Burgundy was marked by warm, dry conditions that favored high ripeness levels across the region. To preserve freshness and acidity under these generous climatic conditions, the estate harvested relatively early, allowing the grapes to reach full ripeness while maintaining the tension needed for balance.

Winemaking and aging

For the Chevalier-Montrachet 2022, grapes are pressed whole-cluster and fermentation begins naturally with indigenous yeasts. The wine is then aged in oak barrels, with this vintage yielding only five barrels, two of which were new, representing about 40% new oak. This moderate use of new wood brings structure without overpowering the fruit, in keeping with the estate's understated, low-intervention approach.

Grape Varieties

100% chardonnay.