2006 Chassagne Montrachet La Romanee
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Tasting notes
Jadot’s 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet La Romanee (a small lot from purchased grapes) smells of butterscotch, toasted almond, litchi, lanolin, and vanilla. Its exotic and advanced ripeness and hints of new wood are nicely complimented by the wine’s creamy richness. In the finish, one glimpses hints of stone and chalk appropriate to the site. Like its Caillerets sibling, this impressively rich cru bottling may well prove longer-lived than the corresponding village Chassagne (made up in any case of a majority premier cru), but is neither as winsome nor as elegant. The impressive collection of Jadot 2006s were slow both in their alcoholic fermentation and their malo-lactic evolution, which director Jacques Lardiere considered all to the good when it came to imposing structure and building complexity in wines of such ripeness and relatively high alcohol. In any case, Jadot whites seldom complete their malo-lactic transformation, and if one seeks a vintage to demonstrate the virtues of that approach, surely 2006 is the poster child. Furthermore, anyone who thinks that there are no values left in white Burgundy today has clearly not given Jadot’s wide range the attention it deserves. (These wines were assembled from barrel for my tasting and/or tasted from a range of individual barrels. I have generally made note of those wines not owned by Jadot and its associates by at least indicating whether grapes or juice were purchased.) Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490 9300
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Medium yellow. Musky peach and hazelnut on the soil-inflected nose. On the palate, this is tightly shut today, hinting at lemon, lime, white flowers and crushed stone. The firm finish offers a note of mirabelle This needs to be forgotten for at least five years.
The soil of Chassagne Premier Crus is mainly made of brown clay and limestone. La Romanée is situated at the limit of the land plantable to vines, where lava and stones predominate. The ground of this site is very austere, and the vines thrive on this difficult ground. Fermentation takes place in French barriques, after which the wine is aged for 12-15 months before being bottled without fining or filtration. It undergoes partial malolactic fermentation. CS Not much nose but very rich and opulent palate in terms of weight even if not in terms of evolution. This should all fall into place… Very glamorous. Even a hint of passion fruit even though this is definitely white burgundy. Quite a mouthful! (JR)
An exotic, moderately oaked and highly spiced nose that is seductive and elegant is followed by beautifully rich, sappy and more complex flavors that are also blessed with ample amounts of dry extract that coat the palate on the impressively long finish. This is also a bit awkward today though if it comes together in bottle, it should merit the upper end of my predicted range. Allen Meadows, Burghound, Jul01,2008.
About the producer
Louis Jadot is arguably the most consistent négociant house in Burgundy. It has managed to straddle both the entry-level and fine wine market, while retaining respect in both.