2000 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

Full yellow-gold. Sexy, complex nose offers scents of yellow peach, brown spices and acacia flower, with a slightly exotic aspect. In a fat and plush but dry and savory style, showing concentrated yellow fruit and spice flavors but not quite the energy of the 2001. Not a particularly mineral wine and a touch dry on the back end, in need of more verve. I'm not sure where this can go. A second bottle was less explosive on the nose but ultimately fresher, with more primary peachy fruit remaining. A note of pastry shell added interest. A bit longer and more energetic than the first bottle but not a wine of huge dimension and a tad dusty on the finish. This is a very tasty drink but I don't find the floral lift or mineral precision and grip that this wine showed at the outset. Today the 2001 is more impressive. (14% alcohol; 3.33 pH; the harvest began on September 16)

The 2000 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is drinking very well today, wafting from the glass with aromas of warm bread, ripe pears, citrus oil, mandarin, dried white flowers and a delicate top note of iodine. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, satiny and open-knit, with lively acids, a fleshy and moderately concentrated core and a nicely defined finish. From a vintage characterized by generous yields and an early harvest, the 2000 Chevalier's supple, generous and expressive personality is typical of the year. Now is a great moment to drink it. By the numbers, this attained 14% alcohol and a finished pH of 3.32.