Situated in Chassagne-Montrachet in the south of the Cote d'Or, Château de la Maltroye has been a family property since 1939. The impressive château building is easily recognisable by its 18th century glazed tile roof, but its cellars are around 400 years older.
The château produces a range of wines, both red (from Pinot Noir) and white (principally Chardonnay), from vineyards in Chassagne-Montrachet itself and neighbouring appellations. The château lies at the southern end of the village, overlooking the Premier Cru La Maltroie vineyard, in which it has a 2.5 hectare monopole plot: nearly 1.4 hectares of Pinot Noir and just over 1 hectare of Chardonnay. The château's principle vineyard holding, in terms of prestige, is a tiny plot just under 0.1 hectares in the nearby Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru vineyard. The majority share of the estate's output, however, comes from its numerous Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru holdings, both red and white. The estate encompasses over 12 hectares of premier cru and village-level in Chassagne-Montrachet and 3 hectares in Santenay.
Jean-Pierre Cornut, the current wine-grower, has magnificently reinvigorated this domain, which now produces some of the best Chassagne-Montrachet on the market. Indeed, the whites made by Jean-Pierre are vibrant, intense, and thrilling. Chassagne naturally lends power and richness to chardonnay, but Cornut is expert in retaining and extracting great tangy acidity and mineral depth to match.
