It was yet another walk to the Roof of the World. It is hard to imagine a more complex wine than Chardonnay grown on just 32.88 hectares within the borders of two villages, Puligny and Chassagne. That is precisely the combined surface of Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet – a true hotspot for every Burgundy wine fan and, for us this evening, the place to once again enjoy some of the greatest white wines on Earth.
It was also fascinating to compare the stylistic signatures of these wines from great masters, and for me that was the most valuable part of the experience. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is, in my eyes, the brightest representative of modern classic white Burgundy, right at the intersection of reduction and oxidation. His wines are the most delicate embodiment of Chardonnay, with notes of ripe orchard fruits, honeysuckle, flint, struck match and crème pâtissière; on the palate they show spring-water freshness and endless length. His Corton-Charlemagne is firmly on the short list of the best wines from that vineyard today, and when it comes to Chevalier, it is his most mythical wine alongside Montrachet – sheer, fantastic expressiveness.
Jean‑Claude Ramonet’s wines are in a completely different style, but no less impressive. He has always made very rich, concentrated wines, and the 2014 and 2019 vintages can in many ways be considered among the best of the 2010s. If Bâtard is powerful and intense, then Bienvenues, by contrast, was very gentle and airy – yet the two were similar in aromatic profile: ripe orchard fruits, honeyed notes, condensed milk and crème brûlée on the nose, with a beautiful buttery texture and great length on the palate.
The wines of Domaine Leflaive from the Pierre Vincent era will go down in history as the domaine’s renaissance. Bienvenues 2021 showed an almost unimaginable aromatic complexity: orchard and tropical fruits, propolis, honey, sunflower seeds and lemon tart, with super concentration on the palate.
And then came a pair of truly great wines. Both Montrachets – from Drouhin and from Prieur – were magical. Laguiche 2021 can easily be considered the best vintage of this wine and, in terms of quality, could quite comfortably outshine even DRC, while the Prieur wine can be seen as an archetype of what this vineyard should be. We finished with Charlemagne from Loïc Dugat-Py – and now it is clear why this vineyard has been enjoying such a Renaissance.
Text and Photo: Greg Somm
