Tasting over the last few years I have never been in any doubt that Ballot-Millot is one of the finest white wine domaines in the Cote de Beaune. From his cellars in Meursault, Charles Ballot fashions a set of wines that invariably brim with verve, tension and energy. He is the 15th generation of his family to front the domaine, so perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that he knows what he is doing. Nor he is afraid to innovate; his wines are very much in the modern mode, lean and elegant, with a deliberate touch of reduction.
In the winery, Charles relies exclusively on the natural yeast on the grapes. The juice is pressed slowly enough to become oxidised, which is a counter-intuitive way to protect the wine from oxidation in the long-term. Maturation in oak is restricted to a year at most, with the balance spent in stainless steel. (NT 07/08/23)
