A structured yet elegant Premier Cru Pinot Noir from Monthélie in the Côte de Beaune, combining the generous fruit of the 2022 vintage with the savoury, floral character traditionally associated with this small Burgundy appellation.
Domaine Labry's Monthélie Premier Cru is produced from two individual Premier Cru climats—Les Champs Fulliot and Sur La Velle—bringing together red and dark berry fruit, violet, subtle spice and forest-floor complexity.
The 2022 offers ripe cherry, raspberry and blackberry supported by fresh acidity and well-defined tannins.
A serious but approachable Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir with enough structure for further bottle development.
Region: Burgundy, France
Subregion: Côte de Beaune
Appellation: Monthélie Premier Cru AOC
Vintage: 2022
Producer: Domaine Labry
Grape: Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.5% ABV
Premier Cru Climats: Les Champs Fulliot & Sur La Velle
Soils: Limestone & Clay
Destemming: Yes
Cold Maceration: Several Days
Cuvaison: Approximately 12–15 Days
Fermentation Vessels: 500-Litre Demi-Muids
Ageing: Oak Barrels
Style: Dry Red Burgundy
Monthélie occupies a fascinating position in the Côte de Beaune, immediately adjacent to Volnay and close to Meursault and Auxey-Duresses.
Domaine Labry's Monthélie Premier Cru is not sourced from a single vineyard.
Instead, it combines fruit from two individual Premier Cru climats:
Les Champs Fulliot
Sur La Velle
The soils are predominantly limestone mixed with varying proportions of clay, with the precise composition changing between the two sites.
Bringing the two climats together gives the domaine an opportunity to balance structure and fruit with the more delicate floral character for which Monthélie can be particularly attractive.
Domaine Labry is a family estate based in Melin, Auxey-Duresses, currently managed by Sophie Labry.
The family's modern history in the village dates to 1948, when André Labry established himself exclusively as a winegrower.
Today the domaine works approximately 13 hectares across Auxey-Duresses, Meursault, Monthélie, Pommard and Baubigny.
One particularly distinctive aspect of Domaine Labry is its extensive use of lyre-trained vines.
The family began experimenting with higher-trained vines in 1970 and moved toward the open lyre system from around 1980.
The objective is greater exposure of the canopy to sunlight and improved aromatic concentration in the fruit.
The Pinot Noir is destemmed before fermentation.
A cold pre-fermentation maceration lasting several days encourages extraction of colour and aromatic compounds before alcoholic fermentation becomes fully active.
The temperature is then allowed to rise, with the complete fermentation and maceration lasting approximately 12–15 days.
One particularly interesting aspect of the vinification is the use of 500-litre demi-muids with one end temporarily removed for fermentation.
The wine subsequently undergoes barrel ageing before bottling.
The objective is a Monthélie with sufficient tannic structure for ageing while retaining the perfume and finesse of Pinot Noir.
Nose:
Ripe red cherry, raspberry and blackberry lead initially, followed by blackcurrant, violet and subtle woodland aromas.
With air, gentle spice, dried herbs and earthy notes begin to emerge.
Palate:
Generous and structured, with ripe cherry and raspberry developing into blackberry and darker berry fruit.
The 2022 vintage provides attractive fruit concentration, while fresh acidity maintains balance.
Structure:
Medium-bodied with clearly defined tannins.
There is more structure here than in a simple regional Burgundy, but the tannins are balanced by the generous fruit of the 2022 vintage.
Finish:
Persistent and savoury, moving from ripe berries toward violet, spice and subtle forest-floor notes.
Domaine Labry Monthélie Premier Cru 2022 combines two individual Premier Cru terroirs—Les Champs Fulliot and Sur La Velle—to create a Pinot Noir with both structure and finesse.
The domaine itself characterizes this wine as relatively full-bodied and structured, with noticeable tannin and a pronounced bouquet.
Red and dark berries form the aromatic core, complemented by violet and the subtle woodland character that develops naturally in Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir.
The generous 2022 vintage is particularly well suited to this style.
Ripe fruit gives the wine sufficient concentration to balance its tannic structure, making it more approachable in youth than a cooler, more austere vintage might have been.
The result is a Monthélie combining:
Cherry · Raspberry · Blackberry · Violet · Forest Floor · Fine Structure
2022 was a warm and successful Burgundy vintage, producing Pinot Noir with excellent fruit maturity while generally retaining sufficient freshness.
For a structured appellation such as Monthélie, that combination is particularly useful.
The warmth of the growing season gives the wine ripe cherry, raspberry and darker berry fruit, helping soften the perception of the naturally firm tannic structure.
The result should be relatively generous in youth while possessing sufficient concentration for medium-term development.
This is therefore a vintage where ripeness and structure work together rather than against one another.
Drink: Now–2037
Preferred Window: 2027–2034
The 2022 is certainly drinkable now, but I would not consider it fully mature.
At present, expect the wine to emphasize:
Cherry · Raspberry · Blackberry · Blackcurrant · Violet · Spice
If opening now, give it approximately 45–60 minutes of air.
A gentle decant is appropriate, particularly if the bottle initially seems tight.
From approximately 2027 onward, I would expect the tannins to become increasingly integrated and the wine to develop a more complex savoury character.
With further bottle age, expect:
Dried Cherry · Dried Flowers · Tea Leaf · Forest Floor · Mushroom · Leather · Gentle Spice
Domaine Labry itself suggests that the wine can be cellared for up to approximately 15 years.
For the 2022, I would nevertheless target the late 2020s through the first half of the 2030s for the most attractive balance between fruit and mature Burgundy complexity.
Serving Temperature: 15–16°C
The domaine recommends 18°C, but for service in Cayman I would start considerably cooler—around 15–16°C—and allow the wine to warm naturally in the glass.
The structure of Monthélie Premier Cru allows it to accompany richer dishes than lighter regional Pinot Noir.
Recommended Pairings:
Duck Breast · Duck Confit · Quail · Roast Chicken · Coq au Vin · Veal · Roast Lamb · Beef Tenderloin · Beef Bourguignon · Venison · Game Birds · Mushroom Risotto · Porcini · Morels · Comté · Époisses
I would pair Domaine Labry Monthélie Premier Cru 2022 with roast lamb, duck or poultry in a rich sauce.
The domaine itself particularly recommends roast lamb and poultry in sauce, which makes sense given the wine's combination of fruit and tannic structure.
For The Tasting Room, my first choice would be:
Duck Breast · Morels · Light Pinot Noir Jus
The fruit of the 2022 complements the duck, while the mushrooms connect beautifully with the more savoury characteristics that will emerge as the wine develops.
Serve at approximately 15–16°C in a generous Burgundy glass.
Monthélie can sometimes be overlooked between its more famous Côte de Beaune neighbours.
That is precisely part of its appeal.
Here we have:
Two Premier Cru Climats
Les Champs Fulliot & Sur La Velle
Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir
Limestone & Clay Terroir
Distinctive Demi-Muid Vinification
Structured 2022 Vintage
Up to 15 Years' Cellaring Potential
For a guest who already knows Volnay, Pommard and Beaune, this is exactly the kind of Burgundy I like recommending: a less obvious appellation with genuine Premier Cru provenance and a distinctive producer story.
