Monthelie: Where the Hell is that?

We all know Burgundy produces fabulous wines named after nearby villages, two of the more famous ones are; Volnay, the village that many consider the Côte de Beaune's most reliable source of red wines and Meursault a village that excels in the production of great whites! But 'who ever heard of Monthelie?' was a question i was asked over the weekend when describing a bottle of wine.

To explain where Montheile is, its worth noting that Burgundy like else where in France is terroir obsessed in fact they may be even more obsessed about land here than 'The Bull' was about his field! Anyway in Burgundy a mere few metres can determine whether your wine is grand cru classe or not, which means the wines can either be highly sought after but those from the vines next to them sit by waiting for a home for their day to come.

Why is this relative to Montelie?

Well this tiny village lies midway between its two more famous neighbours, mentioned above and has a fraction of their notoriety, because it's dismissed as being a little too far south for Pinot Noir and a little too far north for Chardonnay.

But it's a name worth getting to know, as its red wines - which make up this lion's share of its production - are widely regarded as offering fine value, relatively affordable if perhaps just a bit less elegant than Volnay, but at half the price!!! Burgundy like everywhere else produces great wines from standard Borgogne Class wines right up to the Grand Cru Class Vineyards and Villages, its worth checking out the different styles to see which ones you like!