2007 Chevalier Montrachet
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Tasting notes
The Girardin 2007 Chevalier-Montrachet – from a site near the Cabotte – is more adamant as well as more mineral even in the nose than the other wines in this collection. Yet, ripe peach, pineapple, and litchi serve for ample generosity of fruit and juicy brightness in the best vintage manner, while peony and lily assert their floral dimensions. These strands of mineral, fruit, and flower engage in a dazzling demonstration of interplay, and smoky, peat-like as well as toasted nut low-tones add depth to the wine's long, resonant, gripping, and multidimensional finish. I would plan on following this for a dozen or more years. What an amazing trio of "Montrachet" grand crus Girardin has rendered this year! Vincent Girardin picked until past mid-September, with most of his top sites being brought in only from the 10th; allowed skin contact he would have avoided until recent years; and beat the lees on his young wines only until Christmas, but then bottled – with a light fining, and in many instances no filtration – only in May, 2009 to maximize passive time on the lees. The regimen of new wood here (now 20-30% depending on cru) represents a drastic diminution in just the past several years, and the 2007s strike me as far more comfortable in their skins than those of 2004-2006, benefiting also from the freshness and vivacity that characterize the vintage. He picked a week too late in 2006, opines Girardin with hindsight, but then, this was almost unavoidable in at least some instances for a vintner with such huge acreage. Girardin finds his 2007s especially marked by the typicity of each individual site, not only to a greater degree than in the two more obviously ripe preceding vintages, but also than in 2008. This is an aspect he is convinced will gradually be enhanced by a conversion to biodynamic methods that is underway. Girardin's 2007 musts were selectively chaptalized and finished wines here are largely in the vicinity of 13% alcohol. As usual, given the vast array of estate and negociant wines at this address (the latter status noted, where applicable, in my texts), I was not able to take time for tasting them all; in particular omitting the generics. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Bright medium yellow. Very ripe, expressive nose offers yellow peach and white flowers. Opulent, shapely and very ripe, in a distinctly sweeter style than the Batard. Gives an impression of lower acidity too, but there's plenty of acid here. I suspect this one will shut down in bottle. Girardin, who bottled most of his crus in April and May of this year, noted that the 2007s really only started to express themselves in February, and that many of his fellow producers bottled this vintage too early.
Naughty heavy bottle. Obvious weight but rather winning floral/herby aromas. Racy and chewy. Very youthful but promising. Strong citrus streak but very long too. Pretty smart. Well done! Great sinewy stuff. Vibrant. Very lively indeed. (JR)
(not racked) Palish, green-tinged yellow. Steely aromas of white grapefruit, Granny Smith apple and ginger. Suave and supple on entry, then juicy and vibrant in the middle, conveying an impression of weightlessness. Best today on the explosive mounting finish, which boasts superb subtle complexity. The finest and longest of these wines. The crop level here was just 25 hectoliters per hectare in 2007, according to Girardin.