Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru 2016

Montagny is home to many of Burgundy’s most delightful and exuberant white wines, as this month’s Collectors Series feature ably attests, having been awarded 90 and 91 points from Wine Enthusiast and International Wine Report, respectively. Made from 100% Chardonnay from Premier Cru vineyards, Château de la Crée’s 2016 Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru wears a fashionable light golden color and offers fresh aromas of acacia, almonds, apple and citrus as well as youthful juicy flavors to delight the palate. In the finest Montagny fashion, Château de la Crée’s 2016 Les Tourelles comes across as sleek and juicy, yet surprisingly rich. In the mouth, pure beautiful Chardonnay fruit laced with hints of hazelnut, nutmeg, and a distinctive minerality comes neatly wrapped in a fine patina of French oak, which adds subtle creaminess to the wine’s bright acidity and considerable structure. Refined and richly flavored, the 2016 Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru starts and finishes with panache in true Montagny fashion. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording the 2016 Les Tourelles a moderate chill (40° F) and a few minutes in the glass to blossom. Drink now through 2023. Enjoy!

The elegant, well-bred 2016 Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru with its subtle nuanced flavors and lively structure demands foods of comparable quality and style. Crustaceans with distinct singular flavors such as lobster and crab pair beautifully with this wine, especially when served with drawn butter. Branzino prepared with orange slices and fennel makes an exciting complement, as the delicate flavors in the fish complement Les Tourelles’ lively acidity. Poached salmon, sole, and flounder are other perennial favorites, especially when served in a savory sauce. A mildly spiced crab dip or salmon mousse gets our nod as well. Scallops, sautéed with butter, white wine, and fresh herbs provides another tasty accompaniment. However, seafood is hardly the only choice to accompany the versatile 2016 Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru. With additional age in bottle, white meats will offer superb companionship, too, especially simple, flavorful classics such as Breast of Chicken with cream or sautéed Veal Medallions with mushrooms. And if good old-fashioned sipping is more to your liking, consider serving the 2016 Les Tourelles with only well-selected cow and goat’s milk cheeses. Beaufort, Comté, Emmental, Port Salut, and Saint-Paulin all make splendid companions to Château de la Crée’s exceptional 2016 Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru. Bon appétit!

Château de la Crée, a venerable Burgundian estate since 1431, crafts Les Tourelles and several other highly acclaimed Burgundy wines. Originally owned by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor to Philippe Le Bon (Philip the Good) and the founder of the renowned Hospice de Beaune, Château de la Crée possesses 25 acres of Premier Cru vineyards in the most hallowed communes of Burgundy’s fabled Côte d’Or. Individual vineyard blocks in Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay, and Maranges belong to Château de la Crée and are farmed biodynamically. Château de la Crée also draws from Premier Cru vineyards in the Côte Chalonnaise to craft the exceptional Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru (this month’s feature). Both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are grown and crafted by Château de la Crée, with 40% of the estate’s wines hailing from Premier Cru sites.

Since April 2015, Château de la Crée has been owned by Ken and Grace Evenstad, proprietors of Willamette Valley’s iconic Domaine Serene, where they have fashioned world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 1990. Domaine Serene’s 2010 Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir and 2014 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay were recently named in the top 3 Wines of the World by Wine Spectator. This is the first time a red wine and white wine from the same producer were so honored. Domaine Serene’s Winery Hill Pinot Noir was also proclaimed the top Pinot Noir in the World in 2016 when it garnered Platinum Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards. In purchasing Château de la Crée, the Evenstads seized upon a once in a lifetime opportunity to make outstanding Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on two continents, which now includes wines from Morgeot in Chassagne-Montrachet, Clos des Angles in Volnay, and La Garenne in Puligny-Montrachet as well as some of Willamette Valley’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. As Ken Evenstad so saliently stated, “Owning and farming legendary vineyards in Burgundy is a dream come true.” We invite you to come and taste the dream!