2016 Francois Carillon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

Established in 2010, Domaine François Carillon is the long-standing legacy of a wine family business dating back to the 16th century in Puligny-Montrachet, a very typical wine village in the south of the Côte de Beaune - Burgundy's most famous terroir for white wine wines .

Located in the heart of the village, the estate today owns and manages a sixteen hectare vineyard in Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin. The estate produces about seventeen (depending on the harvests) different appellations, mainly in Chardonnay.
Due to the small production, the white wines of François Carillon are mainly found only in the best restaurants in the world. They are all praised by wine experts and wine aficionados, who recognize their accuracy and poise.

The Carillon family has been growing grapes in Puligny-Montrachet for almost 500 years. Ancient written records found in Puligny recount the life and work of Jean Carillon as far back as 1520. His family continued to farm the land and vineyard until the phylloxera crisis, which occurred at the end of the nineteenth century. Prosper and Jeanne Carillon then had to leave the region and work near Paris to support their needs, but soon returned for a love of the land and the vines. After the First World War, the entire estate was replanted. In the 1960s, polyculture and ranching were abandoned in favor of Louis Carillon's almost exclusive culture of Chardonnay.

François started tending the family vineyards in 1988 and worked with his father Louis and brother Jacques until 2010 when the estate was divided between the two brothers. Since 2010 and the creation of his own wine estate, François Carillon has become a renowned reference in Puligny-Montrachet for the refinement of his wines. Supported by a dynamic and close-knit team of about ten people, François dedicates his energy and enthusiasm to constantly increase the quality and elegance of his products, pursuing the development of the family affair with the same enthusiasm as in his early days. He ensures the future of the vineyard by passing on his know-how and love for his work to his four children.

Everything starts in the vineyard. To obtain the best possible grapes, François is strongly committed to a precise and environmentally friendly approach to viticulture. The vines are therefore managed as naturally as possible. Since 1992, all our plots with vines have been weeded by tractor or horse plowing, and no weed killer is used. Respect for the environment and living organisms is something François deeply believes in.

Only products of natural origin are used, and only when necessary. In addition, instead of burning vines, as is often the case in Burgundy, they process them into small shreds, compost them and distribute them in the vines. In combination with horse manure, they enrich the soil without using fertilizers. The vineyard density is about 10000 vines per hectare, which allows them to extract plant food and water from the Puligny terroir (a lot of competition is deeper rooting). The pruning of the vine is done manually ('Guyot' pruning) and the grapes are harvested manually.