A VISIT WITH THE
DE MONTILLE FAMILY
The weathered name plate at the entrance of the
family property in the village of Volnay.
The cool cellars...
Etienne shows off the cellar and some lovely
wines.
Here's a lovely shot of Etienne explaining to
Dominique Lafon how you make really fine white Burgundy.
Lafon, of course, makes some stellar Meursault wines, not to mention (but I
will, anyway) Montrachet.
California importer, Michael Sullivan, enjoys a chuckle at this conversation.
We returned upstairs for some vino and vittles.
Monsieur Lafon brought some wines, too.
The chef de cuisine enjoyed a bit of the cellar artistry.
Mama De Montille.
Isabelle De Montille and her husband...
The mushrooms were especially fabulous, particularly paired with some fantastic
Volnay!
Importer Michael Sullivan.
Etienne visited the cellar as we needed more wine!
Carefully he decanted this old bottle.
Isabelle was curious about my camera and asked to use it to take some photos of
her then famous (and now, thanks to the movie "Mondovino," more
famous) father Hubert.
Her photos of her dear father as precious.
Photo #1:
Photo #2:
Yes...Hubert is a bit of a mystery.
Photo #3:
These were taken long before the film called "Mondovino" arrived in
theaters.
It features a De Montille family and its poster in the US features Hubert De
Montille in a photo not totally unlike the ones shot by Isabelle!
I took over the camera, since Isabelle's photos were a bit too artistic.
Hubert spoke passionately about his vineyards and the terroir expressed by the
vines in each of his wines.
Christiane and Hubert De Montille.
Etienne and his dear old dad...
And, as we emptied the many opened bottles,
the evening came to a nice conclusion.
And Etienne told Dominique he would soon share with him the secrets to making
good red wines, too!
What a tremendous honor for me to be included in such a soiree!
Many thanks to Dominique and Etienne for sharing such great bottles.
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Ellen visited Burgundy in March of 2005.
Here are a couple of her shots.
She talked son and father into
"striking the Mondovino pose."
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More recently, Etienne and his sister Alix, two of the stars of Mondovino, came
for a visit to our shop.
Etienne, Alix and non-movie star, (but All-star wine importer) Michael Sullivan.
I was very sneaky, decanting a "mystery wine," a bottle of Ropiteau
Meursault which Alix had made in the 2000 vintage.
This was a pleasant surprise, she explained, since she has no bottles of this
wine at home in Burgundy!
Between Etienne's Chateau de Puligny wines, Alix's Deux Montille wines and the
family's De Montille production, the line-up is formidable!
Indeed.
