WTN: 2005 Alain Roy "Chateau de la Saule" 1er Cru Montagny France.

2005 Alain Roy "Chateau de la Saule" 1er Cru Montagny France. 13% alcohol. Imported by Madrose, New York, NY. $9.50 a glass at Endless Vines, Franklin Lakes.

What a delicious, fruit forward wine -- and elegant to boot. Pale yellow, clear hue, lovely aromas and tastes of fruit and a bit of spice, good acidity, medium mouth feel, long finish, very satisfying wine. 4*.

Importer's Notes:

HISTORY OF DOMAINE: The Chateau de la Saule, the largest and most prestigious domaine in the appellation of Montagny, has been in the Roy family since 1805. Alain Roy, the current proprietor, has been responsible for the entire domaine since 1972.

COMPOSITION OF DOMAINE: The Chateau de la Saule has 15 hectares of vineyards, 13 of which are planted to Chardonnay. The vineyards face full south and the majority are located within the premier cru sites of "Burnins", "Les Vignes Sur Le Clou", and "Les Monts Cuchots". The soil composition is "argilo-calcaire" and each of the above sites is situated on prime hillside slopes.

METHOD OF VINIFICATION: Harvest is done manually. The grapes are crushed in a pneumatic press; the juice is chilled and then racked off the heavy lees shortly after crushing; fermentation of most of the Chardonnay proceeds in stainless steel cuves under controlled conditions at low temperatures. These wines remain on the lees in stainless steel with a portion being racked into barrel to complete malolactic fermentation. The classic cuvee of Chateau de la Saule, always derived exclusively from 1er Cru vineyards, is normally bottled in May or June following the harvest. A special cuvee of Montagny 1er Cru "Les Burnins" is entirely fermented and aged in barrel. This limited production wine is selected from a low-yielding parcel of vines of approximately 50 years of age and is bottled prior to the next year's harvest.

Thanks for the info Bob. Sounds like a producer I should explore -AND it can probably be found for around $20 a bottle retail!

You're right, Bill. Wine Searcher Pro shows it between $18 and $20 at two or three retailers nearby.

The chalk board must have been wrong; I see the web price for this by the glass is $9.50 at Endless Vine.

A nice wine, especially at the price.

Great notes, Bob.

I'm a big fan of Montagny myself.

Just one clarification---for pedantic purposes:

In Montagny, sites designated 1er Cru received that designation only because they exist at a certain level on the slope. the village of Montagny is essentially in a bowl, with the slopes going up from the village. The vineyards at the bottom of the slope, as well as the vineyards at the extreme crest of the slope, cannot be called 1er Cru (even though they might produce exceptional fruit). It's simply a generalized statement of location...and not necessarily an imprimatur of quality for an individual bottling.

That said, again, I am a fan of Montagny. Rarely overloaded with oak, and usually lean and crystalline with fruit and acidity. My style of Chardonnay, and still reasonably affordable.

Thanks Hoke -- that 1er Cru info was very useful and new to me.

Just one of the little quirks of Burgundy, Bob.

And a reminder that in France, each AOC, no matter how tiny, has its very own specific rules. Makes it hard to generalize, at times. when you're talking about "Burgundy"; you have to remember the specific rules and regs of each AOC.

And the only reason I knew the Montagny rules was when I went there with a winemaker and he explained them to me. It helped immeasurably that we were standing at the top of the slope at the time, looking down on the bowl. As we walked down the slope we went from non-1er Cru to 1er Cru to non-1er Cru.

He explained it was a matter of sunlight/ripening, as well as, to a lesser degree, humidty and wind protection.

FWIW, the same situation applies in Barolo....only vineyards located in a band in the middle of the slopes can go into Barolo. Higher and lower often goes into "Nebbiolo."