Tasting the Iconic Grand Cru 2021 Burgundy Releases from Pierre Millemann Wines…

December 11, 2024December 11, 2024 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Pierre Millemann grew up between Anjou and Alsace where his grandparents lived and where he spent all his holidays. His father and grandfather, both wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs, quickly started transmitting their passion to him. Pierre started studying in Paris. During his first internship, he met René Renou, an important figure in the wine industry, soon becoming his mentor. Fascinated by the development of the vine, Pierre understood very quickly that the concept of “terroir” was the key. This is why he went to work in the vineyards and cellars, first in Germany, and then at Chateau Carbonnieux in Pessac-Léognan, and finally at Champagne Charles Heidsieck.

He went back to university to perfect his knowledge, obtaining a Diploma in Oenology and then a National Diploma of Oenology from Dijon. Pierre continued to gain experience, occupying several winemaking positions around France, but it was in the Jura, where he worked as a cellar master, that he met his wife Stephanie, and the mother of his daughter, Charlotte.

In 2003, thanks to their joint experiences and the very positive results obtained at the estates where they collaborated, Pierre and Stéphanie founded their own oenology consultancy. In constant search for new techniques, Pierre completed his training with a master’s degree in Oenology Research in Dijon, and then started training future oenologists at the University of Burgundy, as a part-time lecturer. The family now works together with the best estates in Burgundy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the United States, and recently, Charlotte joined the family business and started training with her father.

After nearly two decades of consulting, Pierre started his own eponymous label in 2017, dedicated to making single barrels of the greatest Grand Cru Burgundies. While his portfolio has grown slowly over the years, his iconic Millemann signature wines represent not only incredible rarity but also encapsulate a unique set of winemaking skills that guarantees the utmost quality which is manifest in every single bottle of wine released. The choice of the parcels is made with the greatest of care from specially selected grapes, which Pierre has designed, defined and structured an oenological approach that is the most faithful to the terroir and his own biodynamic principles and winemaking vision.

Pierre Millemann Corton Renardes Grand Cru 2021, 13.5%

Lifted perfumed aromatics with hints of dried herbs, thyme, dried mint leaf and notes of red cherry, raspberry herbal tea and a stony limestone minerality. Incredible tension and frame, the structure is bold and linear with seamless mineral tannins with a warming, spicy undertone of cherry and cranberry purity. Incredible power, elegance and precision. A very substantial expression of Corton Grand Cru.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Pierre Millemann Latricieres-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv.

This Grand Cru reveals a deep, dense, dark broody nose with a smoky allure and hints of sweet sappy sandalwood, red plum, red currant jelly and spicy red apple with a pronounced mineral limestone foundation. Beautifully tangy and rich fruited with a sweet and sour red plummy depth, incredible tension and focus with polished marble tannins and cool, fresh crystalline acids. Wonderful focus, power and intensity with a substantial depth and frame.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Pierre Millemann Clos de La Roche Grand Cru 2021, 14% Abv.

A beautifully expressive wine full of perfumed aromatics with hints of violets, rose petals, cherry, black currant and exotic hints of musk. The palate is super polished and seamless, with firm but velvety tannins, creamy black saline fruits and a laser-like precision. Deliciously stony, mineral and classical with a regal black fruited balance and finesse. A truly astonishing wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Pierre Millemann Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv.

A big wine that is now beautifully settled in bottle, exhibiting a dark broody expression with earthy notes of red and black plum, with brûléed hints of black currant compote, warm brown toast and raspberry nuances. Full bodied, there is big power and intensity on the palate with saline blue and black fruits, an energetic invigorating freshness, and a delicately earthy, savoury finish. Impressive concentration and intensity with the trademark Millemann seamless textural precision and focus.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting in Nuits Saint Georges with Charlotte Millemann in November 2023.

Pierre Millemann Chambertin Grand Cru 2021, 13% Abv.

This Rolls Royce of a wine displays a delicate perfumed nose with subtle earthy hints, pressed violets, blood orange and pomegranate hints over a dusty crushed limestone mineral prominence. The palate shows notes of salinity and black currant earthiness, subtle leafy sappy spice complexity, silky fine-grained tannins and an elegant, sumptuous persistence. Delightfully earthy, intense but also very softly spoken. True class.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Pierre Millemann Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2021, 13.5% Abv.

A crystalline lemon-yellow colour leads you to a seductive aromatics of lemon oil, lime pith, lemon grass and a delicately smoky struck flint intensity underpinning a sleek, saline intense mouthfeel that shows a keen juxtaposition between minerality and piercing fruit concentration. The texture is silky, fresh and simply dreamy, seductive and incredibly alluring. Such brilliance, invigorating purity with true fine wine classicism.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

(Wines tasted in November 2023 at Pierre Millemann Wines in Nuits Saint Georges and again in bottle in London on the 15th May 2024.)

The Pierre Millemann Wines are imported into the UK exclusively by Musigny.Wine

Contact: Andrew@musigny.wine

Domaine Armand Rousseau’s New 2018 Pinot Noir En-primeur Releases Shine Brightly Once Again…

January 21, 2020 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The En-primeur tasting season gives wine merchants and consumers a last look at the new Burgundy releases before most of them are bottled between March and May. After Domaine de la Romanee Conti, there is probably a small handful of Burgundy producers that every collector wants in their cellar. Close to the top of this list has to be the spectacular wines of Domaine Armand Rousseau.

Tightly allocated in every global market, buying Armand Rousseau’s wines on release at beneficial En-primeur prices is every collectors holy grail. So any opportunity to taste and assess these exceptional wines before they disappear into deep dark cellars must be considered a valuable learning experience whether you’re a novice or a professional Burgundy collector.

I recently had a snap shot tasting of three of this producer’s delicious wines drawn from barrel samples.

Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos du Chateau Monopole 2018

Showing a gently scented, sweet fruited nose with hints of Gevrey spice, earthy bramble berry, sweet clove and grilled herb spices. Palate is both opulent and plush yet softly textured with underlying Christmas spices and savoury red and black berries. An approachable, concentrated style that’s juicy and harmonious without being profound.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Armand Rousseau Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2018

This opulent red shows plentiful notes of earthy bramble berry fruits, wood spice, grilled herbs, stewed winter fruits together with botanical herbs and incense spices. Supremely polished and elegant, there is a phenomenal core of sweet blue and black fruits, black cherry confit together with energetic acids that are beautifully harmonious and integrated into the concentrated palate fruit. Shows all the gentle, seductive understated Charmes Grand Cru elegance and finesse that this vineyard is so well known for. Very impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru 2018

This grand vin shows distinctive aromatic notes of earthy winter fruits, bramble berries, Christmas pudding and sweet grilled herbs and botanical spices with an undertone of savoury cured meats. The palate is focused and elegant yet power packed and intense with more vibrancy, energy and acid freshness than the aromatics initially suggest. Sweetly fruited with a dreamy creamy palate texture, this wine finishes with a long, lingering persistence of kirsch liquor, macerated black plums and wild strawberries. A hugely impressive wine in its infancy but with a long promising regal future ahead.

(Wine Safari Score: 96-97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru Shoot Out ~ Armand Rousseau v Olivier Bernstein…

January 30, 2017January 30, 2017 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It’s not often you get to compare and contrast two Burgundy wines of this stature, tasted on the same day consecutively. Appellation Chambertin Grand Cru, along with Musigny Grand Cru, are among the greatest and most revered Pinot Noir sites in the whole of Burgundy. It is only perhaps the famed Domaine de la Romanee Conti Monopole vineyard of Romanee Conti that commands greater awe and respect.

So I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to pitch these wines head-to-head and examine what makes them great and what differentiates them.

Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru 2015 (Barrel Sample Jan 2017)

Always one of the most anticipated wines of the year to taste, the 2015 Chambertin has a pristine, perfumed bouquet of white citrus blossoms, ginger biscuits, orange peel, red cherry, black forest berries and subtle hints of graphite. A little more exotic ripeness than your average Chambertin vintage, this wine shows plenty of power and depth, but also intensity and classic Rousseau precision, focus and balance. The palate is sleek, sweetly fruited, suave, and slightly precocious. The tight knit layers of blackberry and strawberry fruit slowly open in the glass and gently wrap their arms around you in a firm longing embrace. There is such beautiful intensity and concentration throughout, a peppery, mineral-infused sappy spice and a defined, linear vein of acidity that runs through the wine from start to finish. This is another block buster from the Domaine that will no doubt become a vintage as equally collectable as the greats of 2009 and 2010. (Wine Safari Score: 96-98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Olivier Bernstein Chambertin Grand Cru 2015 (Barrel Sample Jan 2017)

An incredibly bright, inviting ruby red colour. The nose immediately suggests luxury with richness, intensity and purity and takes you on a sensory journey. Sweet black berry, cassis leaf, dusty grey slate, sweet stalky sap and limestone nuances. The palate is rich, seamlessly complete, showing a glossy texture, plenty of power and ample finesse in its unfinished form. But already, the oak and fruit is beautifully integrated, framed by vibrantly fresh acids and a pronounced saline black cassis core. A real revelation tasting this producer’s Chambertin for the first time. There is such polished, caressed shape and focused mineral power that’s dovetailed neatly into a lush, dark fruited, saline finish. Wow, what a gem standing ahead of his other Grand Cru’s. (Wine Safari Score: 97-98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

My conclusions? On the infrequent occasions I get to taste or drink these wines, they always leave you feeling like you have just visited a holy site or touched hallowed ground. At even a modest quality level, these appellations represent a profound expression of Pinot Noir. In the hands of great producers like Rousseau and Bernstein, they have the potential to boggle the mind and palate with their complexity and allure.

While there is nothing to really separate these wines in the potential scores, my money would probably go with the Rousseau track record over the impressively sleek, but subtle gloss of the Bernstein. But I would be splitting hairs! Congratulations to both producers.