Domaine Michel Niellon Winery
"Traditional winemaking with substance and concentration."
Michel Niellon
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Michel Niellon produced more than 50 vintages in his vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet before handing over responsibility to his descendants. During this time, he became one of the most important winemakers of his generation. His children and grandchildren successfully continued this work.
Michel Niellon joined his parents' winery in the 1950s. At that time, grapes were still being produced for other wineries. But as early as the 1960s, father and son Niellon decided to bottle their own wines. The wines quickly became famous and have been among the best produced in the Montrachet region ever since. The current winemaker, Niellon's son-in-law Michel Coutoux, joined the estate in 1991. Together with his wife, her sister and their son Mathieu Besson, he now runs the winery.
The quality of the wines is not least due to the very old vines on the almost six hectares that the estate covers. Four of these are planted with Chardonnay and two with Pinot Noir. The low yields result in a richness and abundance of glycerine that is rarely found elsewhere. The best wines from the Grand Crus Bâtard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet are timeless wines that produce enormous depth. They are not heavy wines that are produced there. Michel Coutoux, son-in-law of Michel Niellon, who died in 2020, summarises the harvesting habits as follows: "We pay attention to the acidity first. We are often the first in the village to harvest." After the manual harvest, all wines are fermented spontaneously, partly in stainless steel and partly in barriques. Around 25 % of the barrels are new. In order not to mask the fruit and terroir, the wines are only matured in barriques for twelve months and then bottled. This results in very balanced, fine wines with tension and depth.
photos: Domaine Michel Niellon