Background

At the young age of 18, Stéphane Aladame was independently building up his winemaking estate after finishing his viticulture and enology studies in Beaune in 1992. He yearned to work in the vineyards, but did not inherit vines or any winemaking tradition from his family. So when a grower in his hometown of Montagny-les-Buxy decided to retire and presented him with the opportunity to rent approximately three hectares of vines, Stéphane dove in head first. Over the years, he acquired new contracts and replanted abandoned vineyards, bringing the total surface area of the domaine today to almost 7 hectares. He has earned an outstanding reputation, his bottles gracing the tables of Michelin-starred restaurants throughout France and abroad. The appellation owes a great deal to Stéphane, who is now a driving force for an area with superb potential but somewhat lacking inspiration and dynamism.

Montagny

This Côte Chalonnaise appellation is centered around Montagny-les-Buxy, but includes Buxy, St-Vallerin and Jully-les-Buxy. The vineyard faces east and south, but the geological formations are Liassic and Triassic, predating the Jurasssic soils, found further north in the Côte d’Or. Before World War I, this was not a prosperous area and the vineyards were mostly planted with Gamay and Aligoté. The cooperative movement began in the 1920s and early 1930s. At this time, the Cave des Vignerons de Buxy finally put Montagny on the map. As they were better known for their whites than their reds, Chardonnay soon became more widely planted.

The appellation was originally established in 1936 and extended once in 1989 to its current size of 440 hectares. 255 hectares are classified as Premier Cru. Small independently-owned domaines like Stéphane’s are still the minority, with the cooperative at Buxy accounting for 75% of the appellation's total production.

Viticulture

Stéphane farms 8 different 1^er Cru parcels – Le Vieux Château, Les Burnins, Les Maroques, Les Platières, Les Coères, Les Las, Les Gouresses and Les Vignes Derrière. Viticulture is lutte raisonnée since 1992 and has worked mostly organically since the early 2000s. Harvesting is done exclusively by hand.

Winemaking

Due to the high limestone content and shallow soils, Stéphane describes the style of Montagny wines closer to Chablis than to the Côte d’Or. In the cellar, he works to preserve the fresh minerality. Whole bunches are pressed, followed by a light settling period in tank. Indigenous yeast fermentation is typically split between tank and barrel, as is the aging, which lasts about 10 months. Sulfur additions are homeopathic, adding just enough to ensure the wines’ precision.