Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
The domaine owns 4.72 acres in Bâtard, comprised of two parcels in Chassagne and two in Puligny, the vines planted between 1962 and 1989. This wine is richer, broader, more arrogant in its power than the Chevalier. The detail of its flavor continues to develop with days of air. By day three it has a multidimensional savor, the perfume and sensual contours of a pear. The wine's creamy density and vast reserves of freshness turn its sheer mass into something glorious.
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Wine Spectator
An exotic white, showing apricot, vanilla cream and a hint of coconut on a heavy-weight frame. This is unevolved and impressive, with a lot of spice on the finish. The lasting impression is sweet fruit, so be patient .Best from 2010 through 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Montrachet Grand Cru has quite a deep color for a ten-year-old Montrachet. The nose feels a little forward with hazelnut and brioche scents, a touch of warm gravel. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of shaved ginger, then later rosewater and apricot. This does not have the verve and the nervosité I was expecting and frankly, it is blown away by Jean-François Coche's 2005 Corton-Charlemagne. That said, it does improve and seems to muster more energy and tension, but if you stripped away the label, I don't think I would be jumping up and down with excitement without knowing how rare of expensive this is.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.