Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche 1999

This world-famous estate belongs to one of the oldest and most aristocratic French families : the Marquis de Laguiche. Out of the 14 different owners, the Marquis de Laguiche family is proprietaire of the largest portion of Le Montrachet, entirely located in Puligny (according to many authorities, the better side). It has been in their hands since 1363. It is ironical that the hillside of Montrachet, producing Burgundys most prestigious white wine (and in some say the worlds most complex), should look so unprepossessing. The etymology of the place-name is actually instructive : the word rachet refers to a poor type of soil where only scrawny bushes can grow. It is therefore on this "poor, hard, infertile" soil, which geologists call Bathonian limestone, that the Chardonnay grape develops this unique "terroir" character. Montrachet is full bodied and luscious, yet elegant. It is only after a few years in bottle that it will develop its famous complexity and richness. Nose and aftertaste are reminiscent of exotic fruit, honey, liquorice, grilled almond and many other flavours which wine lovers over the years have attempted to analyse. But it is perhaps a musical word which can best describe this glorious wine: a symphony of sensations.