2006 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
Full yellow. Rather exotic aromas of pineapple, marzipan and toast. Fat, thick and dry, with the marzipan quality carrying through on the palate. More ripe apple and pear than stone or citrus fruits here. Finishes chewy and a bit tannic and aggressive, with a suggestion of imperfect skins and surmaturité . This wine has evolved quickly and is rather awkward today; I'm not sure where it can go with further aging. Lacks real depth and sweetness. The estate's 2006s also finished with higher than normal levels of residual sugar, as some rot may have resulted in higher levels of unfermentable sugar in the grapes. This wine has been cited for premox issues. (14% alcohol; 3.29 pH; the harvest, which began on September 20, was complicated by rain showers that withered the grapes and eventually turned them blue, according to Morandière, although he noted that the estate's Chevalier-Montrachet was picked before just before a damaging thunderstorm)
Critic scores
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Oak still in evidence. Manages to be both dry and rich. Dense. Lively. Reverberant. (JR)
Discreet aromas of minerals and menthol, with a suggestion of toast. Much less sweet and full in the mouth than the Batard; in fact, this youthfully closed wine shows a considerably cooler aspect and is characterized by citrus and rocky flavors. In the context of this cellar-or most others in '06 for that matter-this is like tasting a wine from another vintage.
About the producer
Domaine Leflaive is arguably Burgundy’s most famous white wine producer, setting the benchmark for top-quality Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune and the world. The property is the largest land-owner in Puligny-Montrachet, with extensive holdings in the village and five hectares of Grand Cru vineyards