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This is the “…standard-bearer of the iconoclasm of the Domaine” says Bill Nanson, and he is right on the money. It’s a very special and age-worthy 1er Cru that is unique on several levels. Not only is it a monopole, but this was, for a long time, the only 1er Cru white in Morey-Saint-Denis (Dujac now also makes a white Monts Luisants, but not from the Clos). It is also remains the only 1er Cru in all of Burgundy that is 100% Aligoté (and ancient Aligoté at that). At different times in this vineyard’s history there have been small quantities of Chardonnay and Pinot Gouges (a white mutation of Pinot Noir—a sort of Pinot Blanc if you like) in the blend, but from 2004 it returned to its origins of 100% Aligoté, mostly from a selection of vines planted in 1911. Today the wine commemorates these ancient plants with the Vieilles Vignes designation. Since 2015, a parcel of younger-vine fruit (15% of the blend) has brought down the average age to around 90 years old.
As usual, the grapes were pressed in Ponsot’s vertical press, fermented in both tank and barrel, and then aged in neutral oak (all barriques, between 10 and 60 years old). It’s been a few years since Clive Coates wrote the following, but it still captures well the spirit of this important wine: “There is a brilliant complexity and delicacy about today's Clos des Monts Luisants. It is delicious and it really is unique.” I defy anyone to pick the varietal blind. This isn’t simply an Aligoté, it’s a great white Burgundy and a great wine of place.