2007 Le Montrachet
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Tasting notes
Boudot’s 2007 Montrachet represents juice of 50 year old vines that he buys and raises, and I wonder whether to consider the sensational results more a tribute to the inherent quality of this site or to the degree of control he is able to exercise. Musk, daffodil, honeysuckle, lily, nut oils, and brown spices make for a head-turning aromatic display and ally themselves to succulent peach and Persian melon on a silken, palpably thick and dense, yet elegantly-expressive, energy-charged palate. For sheer length, too, this perfectly-proportional wine edges out even the Chevalier-Montrachet. I’m so used to it being the other way around in instances where these two sites can be directly compared that this demonstration of quality amazes me, even allowing for a centuries-long tradition of hype. This ought to be worth following for more than a decade. Gerard Boudot harvested the majority of his fruit during the first week in September, after what he considered to have been one last, critical week of ripening, and believing that it was more important to retain ripe acidity than go for a bit more potential alcohol. He reports having chaptalized selectively – largely at village level and to a very small degree – but the wines top out below 13% finished alcohol. Boudot did a rigorous selection not, he claimed, to remove rot but to cull any under-ripe berries and bunches. All of his 2007s were bottled by March, 2009 after their having spent 5-6 months assembled in tank, a period of passive watchfulness that is among diverse aspects of Boudot’s regimen to have been adjusted in recent years in response to high incidence of wines from the late ‘90s that displayed excessive oxidization after a half dozen years. The regimen of new oak here, incidentally, is 20-25% for the premier crus (with the exception of a bit more on Combettes), and never stands out as a factor detectable in itself. (The wines of this domaine legally belong to two entities, that of Domaine Etienne Sauzet and the company consisting of Boudot and his wife. In addition fruit is acquired for a few bottlings on long-term contract. I have not attempted to call attention to these differences in my notes, and in fact numerous crus represented here have multiple official owners.) Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Pale lemon-yellow. Reticent nose hints at lemon, clove and iodine. Large-scaled, fat and rich, but plush more than complex today in spite of its steely underpinning. This builds slowly and inexorably, filling the mouth and continuing to expand on the back end. A seriously concentrated Montrachet with the structure of a red wine. At 41 hectoliters per hectare, this wine featured the lowest crop level among the Sauzet 2007s. Really floods the palate with flavor.
This is ever-so-slightly riper and less restrained aromatically than the Chevalier with a densely fruited nose offering lightly spiced pear, white peach, lemon-lime and a hint of honeysuckle plus a touch of clove and anise that merge seamlessly into concentrated, powerful and weighty flavors that are not massive but they are focused, well-muscled and impressively scaled all the same and culminate in a superbly complex and deep finish that reminds me a lot of the 2002 version as it seems to come in wave after palate drenching wave. This is not as elegant and pure as the Chevalier but it somehow manages to deliver yet another dimension. In sum, an absolute knockout. Amazingly, this rivals the '93 as the best Montrachet Sauzet has ever made, and anyone who has tasted a well-stored bottle knows that is high praise.
Pale color. Very ripe, aromatic nose combines pineapple, mango, flowers and minerals. Fat, ripe and full but not heavy, with a slightly exotic quality leavened by terrific acidity and a lemony flavor. Not yet complex but finishes with excellent length and cut. Boudot takes possession of this wine in December (it comes from Baron Thenard), but he told me he controls the vinification. At 13% potential alcohol, this was the ripest fruit in 2007. (I did not try the Chevalier-Montrachet, as it was in another cellar.)