Jean-Marc Pillot is the fourth generation of his branch of the Pillot family to tend vineyards in Chassagne Montrachet. He joined his father, Jean, in 1985 to learn the craft of “vigneron”. After six years of working side-by-side, Jean-Marc assumed the direction of the domaine in 1991 with the assistance of his wife, Nadine, and his sister, Beatrice. 

The domaine is dominated by its production of white wines but there are important cuvées of red wine produced here as well. Vineyard holdings are spread throughout the village of Chassagne with subsidiary parcels in Puligny, Santenay, Meursault and Remigny (to the south). This breadth of real estate enables the Pillot family to produce a stunning range of wines that put on brilliant display the intricacies of terroir in this southern tier of the Cote de Beaune. 

Jean-Marc has been able to access fruit in this terrific appellation in the northern part of the Côte Chalonnaise from parcels owned by an old friend with whom he served in the military. La Chaume—from a large 41-hectare lieu-dit—is straightforward in its personality and thickly fruited but nonetheless offers attractive minerality and ample acid. This is given a proper 18-month élevage just like Jean-Marc’s pricier wines in the Côte de Beaune, and its modest 20% new oak is already well-integrated.